Donald Trump had the latest in a series of Twitter tantrums this morning, which wouldn’t ordinarily be especially notable, except this one included what appeared to be a provocative threat:
“James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”
As 19-word presidential missives go, this may be prove to be quite consequential.On the surface, Trump’s tweet appears to be a not-so-veiled threat against the former FBI director, whom the president fired this week because of Trump’s opposition to Comey’s investigation into the Russia scandal. This, in and of itself, is outrageously inappropriate and of dubious legality.Indeed, the fact that the president is publicly warning a potential witness to remain quiet only adds to concerns about Trump possibly obstructing justice. Norm Eisen, the chief ethics lawyer in the Obama White House, characterized the president’s tweet this morning as a possible crime.But then there’s that reference to “tapes.”The word admittedly appears in quotes — and we know that the president hasn’t the foggiest idea how quotation marks work — so it’s possible that Trump wasn’t being literal. It’s also possible that Trump just revealed the existence of recordings he has of private conversations.If such tapes exist, of course, they can be subpoenaed, either by Congress or by federal investigators. It was the revelations about Richard Nixon’s recordings at the height of the Watergate scandal that marked the beginning of the end of his presidency.I’m looking for an adjective that captures the madness that’s unfolding in our White House, but I’m afraid words fail me.Postscript: A few days before Election Day 2016, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who now serves as one of Trump’s chief White House spokespersons, said on Twitter, “When you’re attacking FBI agents because you’re under criminal investigation, you’re losing.”This has not aged well.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."