Monday, June 15, 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

    Indian store owner foils robbery in New Zealand

    Indian store owner foils robbery in New Zealand
    An Indian-origin businessman in New Zealand foiled a robbery attempt at his store when he wrestled the gun away from a masked man and chased him away, a media report said on Tuesday.

    Indian store owner foils robbery in New Zealand

    Richmond Shooting Victim Has Gang-Ties: Police

    Richmond Shooting Victim Has Gang-Ties: Police
    RCMP says officers responded to a call about a man shot near Dover Park and found a man with multiple gun shot wounds.

    Richmond Shooting Victim Has Gang-Ties: Police

    Indian Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Opens Restaurant In Muscat

    The Yellow Chilli opened in Muscat offers spacious indoor seating for 95 people and an additional space for 40 people outside the restaurant,

    Indian Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Opens Restaurant In Muscat

    Two Arrested In Northern Greece Over Temporary Closure Of Canadian Gold Mine

    THESSALONIKI, Greece — Police have arrested two union leaders after hundreds of miners blocked roads to protest the temporary closure of a controversial Canadian gold mine in northern Greece.

    Two Arrested In Northern Greece Over Temporary Closure Of Canadian Gold Mine

    Indian American Judge Among 11 Obama Appointees

    Indian American Judge Among 11 Obama Appointees
    US President Barack Obama has appointed Indian American federal judge Vince Chhabria along with 10 others as full-time judges, a media report said.

    Indian American Judge Among 11 Obama Appointees

    Chinese Stocks Suffer Biggest Fall Since Global Crisis, Triggering Heavy Losses Worldwide

    Chinese Stocks Suffer Biggest Fall Since Global Crisis, Triggering Heavy Losses Worldwide
    World stock markets plunged on Monday after China's main index sank 8.5 per cent — its biggest drop since the early days of the 2008 global financial crisis — amid deepening fears over the health of the world's second-largest economy.

    Chinese Stocks Suffer Biggest Fall Since Global Crisis, Triggering Heavy Losses Worldwide