'An accountability free zone': Jake Tapper rips Trump and the White House over repeated blunders
Tapper opened a monologue on his program, "The Lead," on Thursday recapping the drama around Trump's suggestion that there were "tapes" of his conversations with FBI Director James Comey, who Trump fired on May 9.
Trump admitted on Thursday morning that he had no tapes, 41 days after he tweeted that Comey "better hope that there are no 'tapes'" of their discussions "before he starts leaking to the press!"
Trump's admission came one day before a deadline on which he had been ordered to produce whatever such recordings he might have.
Tapper questioned why Trump tweeted the veiled threat at all. "Was it bluster? Witness intimidation? A desire to pressure Comey to be as truthful as possible," Tapper asked.
The newsman echoed political observers who suggested that Trump's tweets appear to have backfired spectacularly.
Getty Images
Trump's social-media missives prompted Comey to share with an associate a memo documenting Trump's request that the FBI "let go" of its investigation into his ousted national security adviser, Michael Flynn. That associate then shared the memo with The New York Times.
The story ultimately led Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint special prosecutor Robert Mueller to lead the Trump-Russia investigation, which has since expanded to include an obstruction of justice inquiry into Trump himself.
"Not a great strategy, President Trump," Tapper quipped, before ripping the White House for banning cameras and live audio during press briefings in recent days, including on Thursday.
Tapper characterized those muzzled press briefings as the White House's attempt to avoid having to "go on TV live and defend aberrant behavior on Twitter or explain the false things the president says."
"This is part and parcel of a White House trying to operate in something close to an accountability free zone," Tapper said.
Watch the segment below:
.@jaketapper: The White House is trying to operate in something close to an accountability-free zone
- The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) June 22, 2017
https://t.co/Or1MDO6F88
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- BenQ Zowie XL2546X review – Monitor for the serious gamers
- 9 health benefits of drinking sugarcane juice in summer
- 10 benefits of incorporating almond oil into your daily diet
- From heart health to detoxification: 10 reasons to eat beetroot
- Why did a NASA spacecraft suddenly start talking gibberish after more than 45 years of operation? What fixed it?
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market