Thursday, June 18, 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

    Indo-Canadian NBA Player Sim Bhullar To Visit India In May

    Indo-Canadian NBA Player Sim Bhullar To Visit India In May
    Sim Bhullar, who became the first Indian-origin player to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the US, will visit India from May 2 to 7 to promote basketball and inspire children to stay active and healthy by playing the game.

    Indo-Canadian NBA Player Sim Bhullar To Visit India In May

    US Lawmakers Move To Speed Up Visa Approvals For Indian Doctors

    US Lawmakers Move To Speed Up Visa Approvals For Indian Doctors
    Citing a shortage of physicians in the US, two lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan legislation to speed-up visa approval for Indian and Pakistani doctors slated to work at US hospitals.

    US Lawmakers Move To Speed Up Visa Approvals For Indian Doctors

    Over 1,800 Dead in Nepal Earthquake; Fresh Tremors Rock Delhi, Northern India

    Over 1,800 Dead in Nepal Earthquake; Fresh Tremors Rock Delhi, Northern India
    An Indian meteorological official said here the epicentre of the fresh tremors also lay in Nepal, where a powerful earthquake on Saturday killed nearly 2,000 people.

    Over 1,800 Dead in Nepal Earthquake; Fresh Tremors Rock Delhi, Northern India

    155 Killed As 7.9 Earthquake Rocks Nepal, Shakes India

    155 Killed As 7.9 Earthquake Rocks Nepal, Shakes India
    At least 155 people were killed and many were left bloodied when a massive earthquake shook Nepal and India, causing widespread devastation. Buildings collapsed, roads cracked and phone lines snapped as the earth trembled.

    155 Killed As 7.9 Earthquake Rocks Nepal, Shakes India

    Islamic State Kills 10 People, Shoots Down Plane In Syria

    Islamic State Kills 10 People, Shoots Down Plane In Syria
    Islamic State (IS) militants killed 10 people, many of them Kurds, in northern Syria on Friday and shot down a military aircraft in the south of the country, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, or SOHR, reported.

    Islamic State Kills 10 People, Shoots Down Plane In Syria

    P.E.I. Doctor Rescues Disabled Man Who Fell Onto Subway Tracks In Washington

    P.E.I. Doctor Rescues Disabled Man Who Fell Onto Subway Tracks In Washington
    A Charlottetown doctor says he didn't hesitate because there was no time to waste when he jumped from a subway platform in Washington, D.C., earlier this week to rescue a disabled man whose wheelchair had toppled onto the tracks.

    P.E.I. Doctor Rescues Disabled Man Who Fell Onto Subway Tracks In Washington