Did Trump just acknowledge witness intimidation?

Developments on Day 155 of the Trump Administration:

See also “Crime of the Century” — Russia’s Intervention in the 2016 US Presidential Election

Trump Admits Intimidation of Comey, Russian Interference in 2016 Election

In a series of unwitting admissions, Donald Trump admits that he lied about the possibility of taping conversations with James Comey, hoping to intimidate the former FBI Director before his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Trump also contradicted his long-held assertion — repeated only a few days ago — that claims of Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election are a “Democrat hoax”, by chiding the Obama Administration for not doing anything about that interference.

Three days after he fired Comey on May 9, because of the expanding Trump-Russia inquiry, Trump tweeted that he might have recorded their three meetings and six phone calls. This week, he finally admitted that he had no tapes.

See TrumpWatch, Day 154: Trump Backs Down, “I Didn’t Tape Comey”

In a friendly interview with Fox and Friends on Friday morning, Trump was asked if his initial tweet ensured Comey “stayed honest in those hearings”.

Trump paused and then said, “Well, it wasn’t very stupid, I can tell you that….I think his story may have changed.”

Trump is already facing possible claims of obstruction of justice over his attempt, in separate conversations, to get Comey, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and National Security Agency head Mike Rogers to drop an investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. He could now face claims of witness intimidation over his attempted pressure on Comey.

If Trump did try to curb the former FBI director, the effort appears to have failed. In his appearance before the Senate committee on June 4, Comey described in detail Trump’s request for personal loyalty and the effort to halt the Flynn inquiry over contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. Comey also indicated the Trump-Russia investigation may involve current members of the Administration, pushing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to testify before the committee a few days later.

Trump’s Twitter Slip Over Russian Interference

On Friday evening, Trump — apparently unsettled by a detailed Washington Post article on the extent of Russia’s effort to influence the election — returned to Twitter:

Readers such as Maggie Haberman of The New York Times quickly noticed the contradiction in Trump’s previous refusal to acknowledge Moscow’s involvement:

On Thursday, Trump was still arguing that the claims over Russia were made up by Democrats:

Trump’s Attempt to Pressure Special Counsel

Far from recognizing any errors, Trump doubled his bet in the Fox interview with an attempt to put pressure on Special Counsel Robert Mueller over the Trump-Russia inquiry.

Trump wants to dismiss Mueller, who was appointed a week after Comey’s firing, but has been restrained by White House staff.

So on Friday, Trump questioned Mueller’s impartiality: “He’s very, very good friends with Comey, which is very bothersome.”

Insisting “there’s been no collusion, no obstruction — and virtually everybody agrees to that”, Trump claimed that some of Mueller’s legal investigators supported Hillary Clinton in 2016.

He closed with the invitation for the Special Counsel to close off the inquiry: “Robert Mueller’s an honorable man, and hopefully he’ll come up with an honorable solution.”