Close X
Sunday, November 17, 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

    India Growing At 8 Per Cent, Why US Is Not: Donald Trump Asks Supporters

    India Growing At 8 Per Cent, Why US Is Not: Donald Trump Asks Supporters
    Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday criticised outgoing President Barack Obama for leading a slow economic growth, arguing that if a "large country" like India can grow at eight per cent, why the US is not.

    India Growing At 8 Per Cent, Why US Is Not: Donald Trump Asks Supporters

    Baby 'Born Twice' After Miracle Surgery In US

    Baby 'Born Twice' After Miracle Surgery In US
    A baby girl in the US was successfully 'born' for the second time, after being taken out of her mother's womb for 20 minutes at 23 weeks of pregnancy for a groundbreaking surgery to save her life.

    Baby 'Born Twice' After Miracle Surgery In US

    Pakistan uses force to thwart ‘Black Day’ protests in PoK

    Pakistan uses force to thwart ‘Black Day’ protests in PoK
    On this day in 1947, Pakistan had violated all international norms and had sent tribals to invade Kashmir, since then this day has been marked as Black Day every year.

    Pakistan uses force to thwart ‘Black Day’ protests in PoK

    Iconic ‘Afghan girl’ arrested By Pakistan for forged ID card, UNHCR distances itself From Issue

    Iconic ‘Afghan girl’ arrested By Pakistan for forged ID card, UNHCR distances itself From Issue
    The United Nation's refugee agency in Pakistan claimed that Sharbat Gula - known as Afghanistan's green-eyed Mona Lisa - is not a registered refugee.

    Iconic ‘Afghan girl’ arrested By Pakistan for forged ID card, UNHCR distances itself From Issue

    JeM Chief Masood Azhar Is A 'Terrorist', Says Pervez Musharraf

    Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has described Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "terrorist", saying he has been involved in bomb blasts even in his country.

    JeM Chief Masood Azhar Is A 'Terrorist', Says Pervez Musharraf

    Kashmir A Matter For India, Pak To Sort Out: British PM Theresa May

    The issue was raised in the House of Commons during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session on Wednesday by Pakistani-born Labour lawmaker Yasmin Qureshi

    Kashmir A Matter For India, Pak To Sort Out: British PM Theresa May