Close X
Saturday, November 16, 2024
ADVT 
International

Donald Trump's Wire-Tapping Claims Simply False: Obama Spokesman

The Canadian Press, 04 Mar, 2017 12:42 PM
    US President Donald Trump's accusation that his predecessor Barack Obama had his "wires tapped" in Trump Tower before Election Day is "simply false", Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis said on Saturday.
     
    "A cardinal rule of the Obama Administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice," Xinhua news agency quoted Lewis as saying in a statement.
     
    "As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any US citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false," said Lewis.
     
    Trump claimed in a tweet storm on Saturday morning that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower before his election victory, but offered no evidence.
     
    Trump said: "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!"
     
    He also called Obama a "bad, or sick, guy". 
     
    "Is it legal for a sitting President to be 'wiretapping' a race for President prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!" Trump added in subsequent tweets. 
     
    "I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!"
     
    The President then compared the alleged surveillance of his communications to Watergate -- the scandal in the early 1970s that brought down Republican President Richard Nixon after he ordered a break-in of the Democrats' Washington headquarters.
     
    However, Trump did not immediately provide evidence that Obama was responsible for surveillance on his property, the Hill newspaper reported.
     
     
    Moments earlier, Trump had also linked Obama to Attorney General Jeff Sessions's meetings last year with Russia's ambassador to Washington.
     
    "The first meeting Jeff Sessions had with the Russian Amb was set up by the Obama Administration under education programme for 100 Ambs," he tweeted.
     
    Sessions on Thursday said he would recuse himself from any investigations into Russia's links to Trump's team, after massive outrage over the revelations that he met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice during the campaign, then denied doing so during his confirmation hearings.
     
    Trump also blasted Obama for meeting Kislyak 22 times and tweeted: "Just out: The same Russian Ambassador that met Jeff Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone."
     
    Trump's team has sought to push back on accusations of ties with Russia by pointing out instances of Democrats meeting Kislyak, according to the report. 
     
    Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was ousted last month after revelations that he misled top White House officials about the nature of his conversations with Kislyak.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Pak's Sindh Government Hires 50 Employees From Same Family

    Pak's Sindh Government Hires 50 Employees From Same Family
    In a shocking example of nepotism, a provincial government in Pakistan has appointed about four dozen members of a same family in health department.

    Pak's Sindh Government Hires 50 Employees From Same Family

    He Wanted To 'Join' ISIS Because He Was Deeply In Love

    He Wanted To 'Join' ISIS Because He Was Deeply In Love
    The young lover said he did what his partner did. They began communicating through the Internet with people they thought were in ISIS, in Syria.

    He Wanted To 'Join' ISIS Because He Was Deeply In Love

    Indian Trio In Dubai Hack Businessman's Account, Steal $272,249

    Indian Trio In Dubai Hack Businessman's Account, Steal $272,249
    They forged his signature on the application form after pretending the original SIM card was lost

    Indian Trio In Dubai Hack Businessman's Account, Steal $272,249

    Indian Mine Project In Australia 'Promises' Not To Hire Overseas Workers

    Indian Mine Project In Australia 'Promises' Not To Hire Overseas Workers
    Indian conglomerate Adani Group has promised not to employ overseas skilled workers on Australia's 457-category temporary visas for its mega coal mine project in Queensland state, local media reported on Tuesday.

    Indian Mine Project In Australia 'Promises' Not To Hire Overseas Workers

    Hijab-Clad 'Hero' Muslim Cop Called 'ISIS', Harassed In US

    Hijab-Clad 'Hero' Muslim Cop Called 'ISIS', Harassed In US
    Officer Aml Elsokary, who was off duty and wearing her hijab, dropped off her son in Brooklyn. After parking her car, she returned to the scene to find her son being shoved by the suspect, a white man in his 30s.

    Hijab-Clad 'Hero' Muslim Cop Called 'ISIS', Harassed In US

    Saibaba Temple Gets Rs. 3 Crore In Scrapped Notes After Currency Ban

    Saibaba Temple Gets Rs. 3 Crore In Scrapped Notes After Currency Ban
    The Shri Sai Baba Shirdi Sansthan, managing one of the most revered temples in the country, received Rs. 3 crore in the scrapped notes of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 denominations after the government's demonetisation move, the temple trust said today.

    Saibaba Temple Gets Rs. 3 Crore In Scrapped Notes After Currency Ban