Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says the United States' political institutions are now "under assault" both externally and internally, in the wake of President Donald Trump's firing of ex-FBI Director James Comey.
"Talking on the phone with Donald was a public experience", said O'Donnell, author of a book about his former boss, "Trumped: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump".
This could potentially trigger a showdown with the White House as Democrats consider a boycott of the vote on Comey's replacement.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of SC said the White House must "clear the air" about whether there were any taped conversations.
"You can't be cute about tapes".
Some others who have interacted with Mr. Trump and spent time with him in his office said they didn't witness him record any conversations.
President Donald Trump meets with Dr. Henry Kissinger, former secretary of state and national security adviser under President Richard Nixon, in the Oval Office on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Trump was also reportedly upset with the length and scope of the FBI's investigation into his campaign's alleged ties to Russian Federation - which in Trump's estimation is a "made-up story".
Democrats have accused Trump of attempting to thwart the FBI's probe and have called for some type of independent inquiry into the matter.
Last week, President Trump tweeted: "James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"
The White House initially said the investigation was not a factor in Trump's decision.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Mr Trump must immediately provide Congress with any tapes and warned that destroying existing tapes would violate the law.
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When asked in a Fox News interview Friday whether there might be tape recordings of Mr. Comey, Mr. Trump said, "That I can't talk about".
First, the White House said Trump fired Comey because the attorney general and deputy attorney general recommended it.
- Andrew McCabe, the acting Federal Bureau of Investigation director.
Mr Trump, who has sought better relations with Russian Federation, has continued to question whether it was behind the hacking of email accounts belonging to Democrats involved in Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.
Luttig clashed with the George W. Bush White House on a prominent terror case, rebuking the administration for its actions in the case involving "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla.
Deputy FBI Director Andy McCabe will take over the agency temporarily as acting director, Attorney General Jeff Sessions told FBI employees Tuesday in a message obtained by NBC News.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his caucus has not yet made a decision on whether to withhold their votes, but added that the issue is being looked at as a way to ensure there is a thorough investigation of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 USA election.
"The bottom line is that we've got to recruit well, we're going to have to raise a bunch of money", he said.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of SC said on Sunday there may come a time when a special prosecutor is needed but not now.
Any recordings, Hughes added, would be "evidence related to a criminal investigation and therefore they can be subpoenaed, either by Congress, or by a prosecutor, or special prosecutor if one is appointed, and Trump has to turn them over, as the Supreme Court ruled way back in 1974". "What he needs are more folks with more defined roles. you're going to have issues that keep coming up like Russian Federation, like health care, like North Korea and he needs some specialty communicators who can tackle the issues of the day alongside his press secretary".
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