House Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Adam Schiff said Wednesday the panel might subpoena the White House if it does not turn over any tapes of President Donald Trump's Oval Office meetings with former FBI Director James Comey.
"I certainly would hope we'll get a response from the White House by Friday," the California Democrat told Politico in an interview.
The committee set the Friday deadline earlier this month.
"If we don't, then we'll have to determine what the next steps are," Schiff said.
When asked whether the panel might subpoena the administration, he responded: "Yes, it could."
Rep. Mike Conaway, the Texas Republican leading the panel's Russia probe, would have to agree to issuing subpoenas, as would the committee's chairman, California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes.
Conaway told Politico he was not sure whether the White House would comply with Friday's deadline.
"I'm not clairvoyant," he said.
President Trump warned on Twitter last month: "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"
Comey responded by telling the Senate Intelligence Committee this month that "Lordy, I hope there are tapes."
But then the president told reporters the next day that "I'll tell you something about that maybe sometime in the very near future.
"I'll tell you about it over a short period of time," he said, adding, "I'm not hinting at anything."
The House panel then requested any recordings from the White House hours after the president's June 9 comments in the Rose Garden.
Sean Spicer, Trump's spokesman, said Tuesday the president "will make an announcement" on the tapes issue. "I expect this week."
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