Sunday, May 31, 2026
ADVT 
International

Donald Trump's Wire-Tapping Claims Simply False: Obama Spokesman

The Canadian Press, 04 Mar, 2017 12:42 PM
    US President Donald Trump's accusation that his predecessor Barack Obama had his "wires tapped" in Trump Tower before Election Day is "simply false", Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis said on Saturday.
     
    "A cardinal rule of the Obama Administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice," Xinhua news agency quoted Lewis as saying in a statement.
     
    "As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any US citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false," said Lewis.
     
    Trump claimed in a tweet storm on Saturday morning that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower before his election victory, but offered no evidence.
     
    Trump said: "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!"
     
    He also called Obama a "bad, or sick, guy". 
     
    "Is it legal for a sitting President to be 'wiretapping' a race for President prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!" Trump added in subsequent tweets. 
     
    "I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!"
     
    The President then compared the alleged surveillance of his communications to Watergate -- the scandal in the early 1970s that brought down Republican President Richard Nixon after he ordered a break-in of the Democrats' Washington headquarters.
     
    However, Trump did not immediately provide evidence that Obama was responsible for surveillance on his property, the Hill newspaper reported.
     
     
    Moments earlier, Trump had also linked Obama to Attorney General Jeff Sessions's meetings last year with Russia's ambassador to Washington.
     
    "The first meeting Jeff Sessions had with the Russian Amb was set up by the Obama Administration under education programme for 100 Ambs," he tweeted.
     
    Sessions on Thursday said he would recuse himself from any investigations into Russia's links to Trump's team, after massive outrage over the revelations that he met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice during the campaign, then denied doing so during his confirmation hearings.
     
    Trump also blasted Obama for meeting Kislyak 22 times and tweeted: "Just out: The same Russian Ambassador that met Jeff Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone."
     
    Trump's team has sought to push back on accusations of ties with Russia by pointing out instances of Democrats meeting Kislyak, according to the report. 
     
    Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was ousted last month after revelations that he misled top White House officials about the nature of his conversations with Kislyak.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Ranjit Singh Power Murder: Friend And Murder Suspect Baldev Singh Deol Found In UK

    A 62-year-old Indian-origin man wanted in India on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering his friend and business partner in Punjab last year has been tracked to his home in Britain.

    Ranjit Singh Power Murder: Friend And Murder Suspect Baldev Singh Deol Found In UK

    Heartwarming Story Of How PoK Girl Braved Unrest To Marry Kashmiri Cop

    Heartwarming Story Of How PoK Girl Braved Unrest To Marry Kashmiri Cop
    This Wedding Is About The Reunion Of Divided Families Living On The Two Sides Of The Line Of Control.

    Heartwarming Story Of How PoK Girl Braved Unrest To Marry Kashmiri Cop

    Two Indian-Americans Selected For Prestigious Poet Program

    Two Indian-Americans Selected For Prestigious Poet Program
    Two Indian-American teens are among five students selected for the prestigious National Students Poets Program, the White House has announced.

    Two Indian-Americans Selected For Prestigious Poet Program

    'Thanks For Your Ignorance:' Edmonton Actor Posts Video With Man's Racist Slurs

    'Thanks For Your Ignorance:' Edmonton Actor Posts Video With Man's Racist Slurs
    An actor and former high-jump champion who confronted someone yelling racial slurs — all of which was caught on video — says he would like to thank the man.

    'Thanks For Your Ignorance:' Edmonton Actor Posts Video With Man's Racist Slurs

    Pakistan Cracks Down On Baloch Leader Who Cheered Prime Minister Narendra Modi

    Pakistan Cracks Down On Baloch Leader Who Cheered Prime Minister Narendra Modi
    Pakistan has approached the Interpol to help secure the arrest of Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti after he appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 15th August speech.

    Pakistan Cracks Down On Baloch Leader Who Cheered Prime Minister Narendra Modi

    In Suspected Hate Crime, Muslim Woman In Headscarf Stabbed To Death In US

    In Suspected Hate Crime, Muslim Woman In Headscarf Stabbed To Death In US
    Nazma Khanam, a former schoolteacher, was on her way home along with her husband Shamsul Alam Khan, 75, after closing their shop and picking up some groceries when she was attacked.

    In Suspected Hate Crime, Muslim Woman In Headscarf Stabbed To Death In US