Sunday, June 21, 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

    Building on fire shuts down Los Angeles freeways

    Building on fire shuts down Los Angeles freeways
    "More than 250 firefighters battled the blaze at the apartment tower under construction," Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson...

    Building on fire shuts down Los Angeles freeways

    British MP Caught Playing Candy Crush On iPad In Parliament

    British MP Caught Playing Candy Crush On iPad In Parliament
    A British MP was caught playing Candy Crush, a popular puzzle game, on his iPad while attending a parliamentary committee meeting....

    British MP Caught Playing Candy Crush On iPad In Parliament

    Australian police warn against 'firearm selfies'

    Australian police warn against 'firearm selfies'
    Australians who post "selfies" on social media displaying their guns and ammunition could make themselves targets for thieves, police officials said Monday....

    Australian police warn against 'firearm selfies'

    Fighting IS a 'Third World War'

    Fighting IS a 'Third World War'
    Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari said “efforts to eradicate the extremist movement, which has taken over large swathes of Iraq, had a much greater international...

    Fighting IS a 'Third World War'

    Anni Dewani Murder: British-Indian Businessman Shrien Dewani Accused Of Killing Wife Walks Free

    Anni Dewani Murder: British-Indian Businessman Shrien Dewani Accused Of Killing Wife Walks Free
    An Indian-origin businessman from Britain, accused of arranging the murder of his wife while on honeymoon trip in South Africa, was discharged Monday....

    Anni Dewani Murder: British-Indian Businessman Shrien Dewani Accused Of Killing Wife Walks Free

    IS militants behead four children in Iraq

    IS militants behead four children in Iraq
    Sunni radical group Islamic State (IS) beheaded four Christian children in Iraq for refusing to convert to Islam, a media report said Monday....

    IS militants behead four children in Iraq