But when he found out that I-that there may be tapes out there-whether it's governmental tapes or anything else-and who knows-uh, I think his story may have changed.
Trump also said that some of the staffers that Mueller has hired for his investigation "are all Hillary Clinton supporters".
Trump said that his own story didn't change, in an apparent reference to his statement in his dismissal letter on May 9 to Comey, that the former FBI director had told him three times he was not the target of an FBI investigation.
Trump has tweeted on May 12, days after firing Comey, that "James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" prompting widespread speculation that such recordings existed.
He told Fox News on Friday (US time) his plan to keep Mr Comey in line "wasn't very stupid". Former prosecutors said the tweets could be of interest to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is said to be examining whether Trump attempted to obstruct Comey and the FBI's investigation in his wide-ranging probe.
While testifying before the House Intelligence Committee, Mr Comey said he hoped there were tapes.
But the president insists his campaign did not collude with Russian Federation and that his firing of Mr Comey did not obstruct justice.
When asked if Mueller should recuse himself because of his friendship with Comey, Trump responded: "We're going to have to see".
Chile says it will consider joint bid for 2026 World Cup
VARs have been trialled in recent worldwide friendlies and are now being used at the Confederations Cup in Russian Federation . Portugal won 2-1 the only time it faced Mexico in an official match, in the group stage of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The piece cited a memo that Comey filed just after a February 14 meeting he had with Trump at the White House.
"I've been reading about it for the last couple of months about the seriousness of the horribleness of the situation with surveillance all over the place", said Trump. He has been known, for instance, to take the most benign of subjects-say, his budding relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping-and turn it into a dissertation on his election win.
White House legislative affairs director Marc Short copied the tweet onto a formal letterhead to the leaders of the House and Senate Russia investigations. "I don't know how this serves the country's interests".
Trump acknowledged on Twitter Thursday that he did not have any tapes of him and Comey and hinted at the potential surveillance he elaborated on in the interview.
Two interviews on Friday indicate that the White House's line has now shifted.
One week after the memo was disclosed, the Justice Department appointed Mueller as special counsel to take over the investigation into contacts between Russian Federation and the Trump political campaign.
His tweet came a day before he was required by Congress to hand over any such tapes. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein asserted that Mueller had his full confidence and he didn't see a reason to terminate the special counsel.
"He said, 'you never know, '" Smith noted, adding the president also suggested his threat of tapes "may have forced Comey to be honest".
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