DOJ report does not confirm Trump’s wiretap claim, sources say

After White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer parroted an unverified claim implicating Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in President Donald Trump’s yet unfounded wiretap allegations, the White House reportedly reached out to Downing Street in an effort to smooth over tensions with Britain.

Although White House press secretary Sean Spicer read an extensive litany of news reports from the podium Thursday that showed intelligence agencies’ interest in Trump’s activities, none of them actually corroborated Trump’s claim.

A senior administration official told CNN that Spicer and McMaster offered what amounted to an apology to the British government.

Although his aides in private conversations since Thursday night had tried to calm British officials who were livid over the claim, Trump made clear that he felt the White House had nothing to retract or apologize for. “These nations must pay what they owe”, Trump said.

The US has agreed not to repeat any such claims after GCHQ denied the allegations, BBC reports.

Among the items he quoted from was a transcript of a recent appearance by Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano on the network, in which Napolitano suggested GCHQ, the British electronic intelligence agency, had helped with the alleged tapping. U.S. President Donald Trump on Twitter accused former president Barack Obama of tapping the phones at his NY skyscraper.

GCHQ said the claim was “nonsense” and should be ignored.

The remarks are the harshest rejection yet of Trump’s claim that Obama had carried out surveillance on his self-named tower in Manhattan. Officials have said Trump did not necessarily mean Obama personally ordered the surveillance, that wiretapping could refer to a broad range of surveillance efforts, and that the effort may not have specifically targeted Trump Tower in NY.

Trump said while standing by his initial charge that the previous United States administration eavesdropped on him.

And British intelligence is clearly determined to avoid being drawn into what is an increasingly toxic row in Washington.

It seems unlikely that President Obama is hanging out near his front door, expecting that big “I’m sorry” bouquet to arrive … what with Donald Trump being a dick and all. Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory.

The comment drew immediate rebuke from the GCHQ.

The wiretapping controversy started earlier this month when Trump tweeted his allegations.