Comey: There's No Evidence Obama Wiretapped Trump

He also confirms investigation into Russian meddling, possible ties to Trump campaign
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 20, 2017 10:19 AM CDT
Comey: There's No Evidence Obama Wiretapped Trump
FBI Director James Comey, left, joined by National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers, testifies on Capitol Hill on Monday.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

FBI Director James Comey's testimony before Congress on Monday is making headlines on two main fronts: First, he publicly contradicted a series of tweets from President Trump in which Trump alleged that then-President Obama had wiretapped him during the campaign. "I have no confirmation that supports those tweets, and we have looked carefully inside the FBI," Comey said, per the AP. The same was true, he added, of the Justice Department. Second, he confirmed that the bureau is investigating possible links and coordination between Russia and associates of Trump as part of a broader probe of Russian meddling in the election. It's the first public confirmation of an investigation that began last summer, and it came in Comey's opening statement before the House intelligence committee.

Comey acknowledged that the FBI does not ordinarily discuss ongoing investigations, but said he'd been authorized to do so given the extreme public interest in this case. "This work is very complex, and there is no way for me to give you a timetable for when it will be done," Comey told the House panel. The hearing, providing the most extensive public accounting of a matter that has dogged the Trump administration for its first two months, quickly broke along partisan lines. Democrats pressed for details on the status of the FBI's investigation, while Republicans repeatedly focused on news coverage and possible improper disclosures of classified information developed through surveillance. The Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled a similar hearing for later in the month. (More James Comey stories.)

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