US Officials Reportedly Apologize To The UK Over Spying Claims

Hurd, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he has not yet seen the DOJ report that was sent to Congress on the wiretapping allegation, but was not surprised by its apparent contents.

GCHQ rejected allegations made by White House press secretary Sean Spicer, that it spied on Mr Trump, as “nonsense”.

CNN quoted a White House official as saying that the conversation was “cordial” and McMaster described Spicer’s comment as “unintentional”. “I just don’t want anybody jumping to any conclusion on any side of this, other than the fact that we know that Obama didn’t physically wiretap Trump Tower”, Nunes told CNN Friday. The pragmatic Merkel is now on her third United States president and appears to be looking to find a way to forge a relationship with Trump without buying into his political values.

When asked to shake hands by reporters and photographers, Trump remained stationary.

But in the controlled environment of Friday’s news conference, in which each side typically selects two questioners, it’s unclear whether the White House will get a question on the issues.

“The Five Eyes countries – who share nearly all intelligence with each other and work very closely – are the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand”. GCHQ’s press office told AFP on Friday that it was “not unusual” for the agency to make public comment but acknowledged that “perhaps the tone of it was unusual”.

Senior lawmakers with the House Intelligence Committee who are investigating the matter said they have seen no evidence to support the claim.

They say there’s no indication Trump Tower in midtown was put under surveillance before or after the election.

The White House has said that Trump’s initial claims, posted in a flurry of tweets earlier this month, should not be taken literally. Spicer and McMaster both said that Spicer was simply pointing to public reports and not endorsing any specific story, the official said.

Nunes noted that it was “possible” but as yet unproven whether communications involving Americans connected to the Trump campaign were intercepted in incidental collection – where a Russian subject would have been under surveillance and his or her contacts included communication with an American.

Some Republicans go very far in publicly criticizing Trump’s habit of speaking falsehoods; others are more genteel in their public phrasing about what Sanders calls pathological lying, but make no mistake: Most Republicans are just as offended and anxious by Trump’s habit of bearing false witness as Democrats.