Sunday, June 7, 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

    Canadian Lumber Producers Reject Rumoured U.S. Calls For Return To Quotas

    Canadian Lumber Producers Reject Rumoured U.S. Calls For Return To Quotas
    Canadian forestry company executives are eager for a new softwood lumber agreement but say they are not interest in a rumoured U.S. proposal to reinstate across-the-board quotas.

    Canadian Lumber Producers Reject Rumoured U.S. Calls For Return To Quotas

    Obama Urges Scrutiny Of Donald Trump's Record

    Obama Urges Scrutiny Of Donald Trump's Record
    It's important for us to take seriously the statements he's made in the past,

    Obama Urges Scrutiny Of Donald Trump's Record

    The Face Of Brussels Horror, Airhostess Nidhi Chaphekar Returns To India

    The Face Of Brussels Horror, Airhostess Nidhi Chaphekar Returns To India
    Chaphekar has made significant recovery from her injuries sustained during the blasts at Brussels airport. She is in good spirits and very happy to be back with her family

    The Face Of Brussels Horror, Airhostess Nidhi Chaphekar Returns To India

    Indian-Origin Tock Broker Pranav Patel Charged In Alleged $131 Million Stock Market Scam

    The 35-year-old Patel was scheduled to appear later Wednesday in a federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for legal proceedings to bring him to Brooklyn for trial. 

    Indian-Origin Tock Broker Pranav Patel Charged In Alleged $131 Million Stock Market Scam

    Sacked Indian Techie Shreya Ukil Claims Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Win Against Wipro In Britain

    Sacked Indian Techie Shreya Ukil Claims Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Win Against Wipro In Britain
    Wipro, however, said the tribunal upheld the dismissal as appropriate and rejected claims of adverse cultural attitude towards women in the organisation.

    Sacked Indian Techie Shreya Ukil Claims Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Win Against Wipro In Britain

    16-Year-Old Minor 'Burnt Alive' For Helping Couple To Elope In Pakistan

    16-Year-Old Minor 'Burnt Alive' For Helping Couple To Elope In Pakistan
    Police said the honour killing was ordered as punishment for what the council deemed irreparable damage to the village's reputation.

    16-Year-Old Minor 'Burnt Alive' For Helping Couple To Elope In Pakistan