Story highlights The White House press office had a stenographer in meetings with journalists

Trump tweeted to former FBI director James Comey that he "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations

(CNN) President Barack Obama did not record private meetings in the White House, a former White House official tells CNN.

"We obviously didn't record private meetings," the former official said. "The Obama White House didn't secretly record private meetings"

James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017

The White House press office had a stenographer in meetings with journalists in order to have an independent transcript of the interviews, a common practice, the former official said.

"None of that was hidden," the former official said. "The stenographer sat in interviews with a tape recorder and sometimes even a boom mic -- the same stenographers would tape and transcribe press briefings and gaggles. Journalists who interviewed President Obama would have been familiar with that."

On Friday, President Donald Trump tweeted a warning to former FBI director James Comey, whom he fired earlier in the week, saying he "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press."

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