Obama Team Denies Trump's Claims About Wiretapping

Spokesperson says administration never wiretapped US citizens
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 4, 2017 1:29 PM CST
Trump Wiretapping Claim 'Simply False,' Says Obama Camp
Wind blows President Donald Trump's tie as he arrives at Orlando International Airport for a visit to St. Andrew Catholic School in Orlando, Fla., Friday, March 3, 2017.   (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

A spokesperson for Barack Obama says President Trump's accusations about Obama wiretapping Trump Tower are "simply false," NBC News reports. "Neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any US citizen," Kevin Lewis says. The Obama camp wasn't the only one denying the veracity of Trump's claim, which came in a flurry of tweets Saturday morning and was presented without evidence. A senior US official says Trump didn't speak to anyone in the government who would have knowledge of a wiretap. And a former deputy national security adviser says presidents don't have the power to order wiretaps on citizens.

Nancy Pelosi responded to Trump's tweets by calling him the "deflector-in-chief" and demanding an independent investigation into his alleged Russia connections, USA Today reports. According to CBS News, Howard Dean pointed out that if Trump Tower was actually wiretapped, it means a judge found probable cause of Trump being involved in something criminal. And Paul Ryan says he doesn't believe the Obama administration was conducting surveillance on Trump. But Lindsey Graham said he was concerned about the accusations and promised "to get to the bottom of this" during a town hall meeting Saturday. In recent days, right-wing media has started accusing Obama of leading a "silent coup" to take down Trump. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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