Trump explains why he wanted Comey to think he had taped their conversations

Asked on Friday by Fox & Friends' Ainsley Earhardt why he floated the idea that he had recorded conversations between himself and former FBI director James Comey, President Donald Trump explained that he did it to pressure Comey to keep his story straight. 

Trump first explained that he was generally suspicious of the FBI and intelligence apparatus in charge of the investigation into his campaign's possible collusion with Russia, saying "you never know what's happening when you see that the Obama administration, and perhaps longer than that, was doing all of unmasking and surveillance."

In light of that suspicion, he suggested he may have taped Comey in an effort to keep him honest. 

"When he found out that I, you know, that there may be tapes out there, whether it's governmental tapes or anything else, and who knows, I think his story may have changed," said Trump. 

While Comey and other intelligence officials said they could not comment on whether or not Trump was personally under investigation as part of the Russia probe, Comey's testimony cleared Trump of that charge. 

Comey, for his part, seemed to also be wary of his interactions with the president. After each interaction with Trump, Comey wrote out detailed memos of their conversations because he "was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting," he told a Senate committee during testimony.  "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said of the possibility of being recorded. 

"He did admit that what I said was right," Trump told Earhardt. "And if you look further back, before he heard about that, I think maybe he wasn't admitting that."