If Trump has been secretly taping conversations

[skip fox]

might he not have a tape of his conversations in the Oval Office with with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak?

Might this not be extremely valuable to concerned entities like The House Intelligence Committee and the C.I.A. for damage control? Then they can know precisely how much the Trump-dump will cost us, &c.

Or would Trump argue he shouldn't let Americans with the highest clearance know and a cclear need-to-know what he freely gave to the Russians on a whim?

Subpoena the tapes!!!!

[C_U_L8R]

1. Maybe the Russians should release their tapes

...live from the Oval Office carpeting.

[PJMcK]

2. Trump doesn't have any recordings

Trump doesn't have the capacity for long-term strategic thinking. If he did, he wouldn't contradict his own representatives on a regular basis. Their stories would be coordinated and consistent. Instead, everything Trump does is an improvisation. This is why he contradicts even himself.

The purpose of any recordings would be two-fold: first, to hold a record of any conversations. Second, to be able to compel others to act in Trump's best interests even if it's against their own interests, i.e., blackmail.

If Trump had such recordings, he, or others, would have revealed it by now. This team of incompetents literally couldn't find the light switches. I doubt they'd be able to set up secret recording devices, keep it organized and use the intelligence effectively.

There is one question, though. In his threatening tweet about James Comey, Trump put quotes around the word "tapes." Why did he do that? Obviously, nearly no one uses recording tapes in this digital age, but is Trump that savvy about technology? He has such a poor command of English that I find this detail puzzling.

[skip fox]

3. I agree with much of what you say but

1.) he may have revealed the existence of tapes already though he could have been bluffing

&

2.) He has been known to secretly tape conversations previously. (Wouldn't his motivation for doing so likely be higher as President than a businessman?)