Sunday, June 14, 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

    'US Cop Slamming Indian Grandfather Acted Without Reason'

    'US Cop Slamming Indian Grandfather Acted Without Reason'
    An Alabama police officer accused of using excessive force against a "no-English" speaking Indian grandfather walking in his son's neighbourhood had no reason to think he may have committed a crime, a US court was told.

    'US Cop Slamming Indian Grandfather Acted Without Reason'

    Indian-Origin Woman In New Zealand Lives With Dead Husband For Weeks

    Indian-Origin Woman In New Zealand Lives With Dead Husband For Weeks
    The wife told neighbours that the stench was emanating from "rubbish".

    Indian-Origin Woman In New Zealand Lives With Dead Husband For Weeks

    Obama To Present National Humanities Medal To Jhumpa Lahiri

    Obama To Present National Humanities Medal To Jhumpa Lahiri
    Pulitzer Prize winning Indian-American author is one of the 10 distinguished recipients of the 2014 National Humanities Medal, to be prsented by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony on September 10.

    Obama To Present National Humanities Medal To Jhumpa Lahiri

    Dalhousie Student In Alleged Mass Killing Threat Faces New Charge

    Dalhousie Student In Alleged Mass Killing Threat Faces New Charge
    HALIFAX — A Dalhousie University medical student who allegedly told a psychiatrist that he would kill up to 20 people and himself is facing an additional charge.

    Dalhousie Student In Alleged Mass Killing Threat Faces New Charge

    Modi's Digital India Sparks Clash Among Indian-American Academics

    Modi's Digital India Sparks Clash Among Indian-American Academics
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India initiative has sparked a war of words between pro- and anti-Modi academics of Indian descent spread over major American universities ahead of his visit to Silicon Valley.

    Modi's Digital India Sparks Clash Among Indian-American Academics

    'US Cop Tackled Indian Grandfather In An Improper Manner'

    'US Cop Tackled Indian Grandfather In An Improper Manner'
    An Alabama police officer accused of using excessive force against an Indian grandfather walking in his son's neighbourhood used an improper method to subdue him by slamming him down to the ground, a US court was told.

    'US Cop Tackled Indian Grandfather In An Improper Manner'