Sunday, June 28, 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

    Suspect in Los Angeles-area shootings that killed 3, injured 4 detained following standoff

    Suspect in Los Angeles-area shootings that killed 3, injured 4 detained following standoff
    LOS ANGELES, Calif. - A suspect in a series of shootings that killed three people and injured four others within the span of an hour in the Los Angeles area...

    Suspect in Los Angeles-area shootings that killed 3, injured 4 detained following standoff

    British Indian killer mom jailed for 11 years

    British Indian killer mom jailed for 11 years
    A British Indian woman, who battered her three-year-old son to death in Scotland, was Monday jailed for 11 years, a media report said....

    British Indian killer mom jailed for 11 years

    Pakistan cleric leading anti-government rally warns premier of 48-hour deadline to step down

    Pakistan cleric leading anti-government rally warns premier of 48-hour deadline to step down
    ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani cleric leading a mass anti-government rally in front of parliament issued a 48-hour deadline Monday for the country's prime...

    Pakistan cleric leading anti-government rally warns premier of 48-hour deadline to step down

    French PM Manuel Valls resigns

    French PM Manuel Valls resigns
    French PM Manuel Valls Monday submitted the government's resignation to President Francois Hollande who has asked him to form a new cabinet...

    French PM Manuel Valls resigns

    US says American held in Syria for nearly 2 years by al-Qaida-linked group has been freed

    US says American held in Syria for nearly 2 years by al-Qaida-linked group has been freed
    An American journalist kidnapped and held hostage for nearly two years by an al-Qaida-linked group in Syria was released Sunday, less than a week after the horrific...

    US says American held in Syria for nearly 2 years by al-Qaida-linked group has been freed

    LAPD: 3 dead in separate attacks around Los Angeles within 1 hour; shootings may be related

    LAPD: 3 dead in separate attacks around Los Angeles within 1 hour; shootings may be related
    SAN FERNANDO, Calif. - Three people were fatally shot and two others injured early Sunday in three separate attacks within the span of an hour in the northern suburbs of Los Angeles. The attacks could be related, police said.

    LAPD: 3 dead in separate attacks around Los Angeles within 1 hour; shootings may be related