Barack Obama Wiretapping Trump Towers: Still No Substantial Proof

Trump’s wire tapping allegations have dogged his administration since he first made the baseless accusation against Obama in a tweet in early March.

The US House Intelligence Committee has found no evidence so far to back up President Donald Trump’s claim that Trump Tower was wiretapped during last year’s presidential campaign, the panel’s Republican chairman said on Wednesday.

Trump alleged that his predecessor, President Barack Obama, tapped his phone at Trump Tower in a pair of tweets earlier this month. “And if you are, then clearly the president was wrong”, Chairman Devin Nunes told reporters.

GOP congressmen on the various house and senate committees investigating Trump’s links with Russian Federation also have had enough, threatening to issue subpoenas against the White House and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and/or to block presidential appointments until they get answers – in particular, that of Rod Rosenstein as deputy attorney general.

The former president’s office has denied the charge.

The White House previously asked Congress to add Trump’s wiretapping claims to its ongoing probes into the extent of Russian influence on the 2016 US election. Trump said on Twitter, spelling “tap” as “tapp”.

“I think the president has one of two choices: either retract or to provide the information that the American people deserve”, McCain said on Sunday.

Spicer’s remarks came after mounting pressure from the Capitol seeking the Trump administration for evidence that the phones at Trump Tower were tapped prior to the Election Day.

Schiff blasted the White House for the suggestion, noting that White House press secretary Sean Spicer has said that he was not aware of any investigation that would target Trump, and that there was no court-ordered surveillance. “I want to answer that question”. Trump has not provided evidence to support his claim and has asked Congress to investigate. House GOP leaders will hear from members during a closed door meeting of Republicans set for Wednesday evening; on Thursday morning, the House Budget Committee is slated to start debate and votes on the GOP plan. The House Intelligence Committee had asked the Department of Justice to provide evidence backing up the president’s claim by March 13. “The president feels very comfortable there is information out there on surveillance”, Spicer said, saying the president’s concerns were not limited to actual wiretaps, but to the monitoring of communications in general.

The issue may also come up at hearing set for Wednesday by a Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee on the methods used by Russian Federation and other authoritarian governments “for undermining democracies throughout the world”.

After the DOJ asked for more time on Monday, Schiff tweeted: “We are urging that they do so promptly but no later than our hearing on March 20”.