Trump: I didn't record secret tapes of James Comey

WASHINGTON – Mystery solved: No, President Trump doesn't have recordings of former FBI director James Comey.

"With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea ... whether there are 'tapes' or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings," Trump said in a pair of tweets Thursday.

Trump did not explain why he made the suggestion that he might have secretly recorded conversations with his former FBI director in the first place – nor why he waited 41 days to clear up the confusion.

Shortly after he fired Comey, Trump ignited a wave of speculation about recordings with an enigmatic May tweet saying that "James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

Comey has said Trump's implied threat was the reason he shared information about contemporaneous notes he took on his talks with the president.

Comey, who was running the FBI's investigation into possible collusion between associates of the president and Russians seeking to influence last year's election before he was fired on May 9, says Trump pressed him to drop the inquiry into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. 

Trump had consistently refused to say whether or not tapes actually exist. 

House members running their own Russia investigations sent the White House a letter asking the White House to submit any tapes by June 23 – which is Friday. 

The president made his disclosure a day before the deadline.

Some Democrats said they're not sure they believe Trump's declaration, noting that his tweet suggests that intelligence agencies or others might have tapes. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he would continue to pursue the matter.

“If the President's statement is accurate," he said, "it of course raises as many questions as it answers, the most significant being: If the President had no tapes, why did he suggest otherwise?  Did he seek to mislead the public? Was he trying to intimidate or silence James Comey? And if so, did he take other steps to discourage potential witnesses from speaking out?"

Comey himself may be disappointed by Trump's new claim. During congressional testimony earlier this month, Comey welcomed the prospect of presidential recordings that he said would confirm his version of the conversations. 

"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said.