FBI Director James Comey has denied the FBI’s involvement in tapping President Trump’s phones during his presidential campaign. The denial comes after President Trump said Former President Obama had had his (President Trump’s) phones tapped while he was still operating from Trump Tower in New York. The accusation was made on Saturday. However, Trump lacked evidence to support his allegation.
Apart from denying the FBI’s involvement, Mr. Comey has requested the Department of Justice (DoJ) to refute this charge made by the president publicly. He says that the reason for his request is so as to assure Americans that the FBI stayed within the confines of the law. The Department of Justice is yet to comment on Mr. Comey’s request.
The Director of national intelligence during the Presidential election has also supported Mr. Comey by saying that neither Trump’s nor his campaign’s phones were tapped during that period.
Further, President Obama’s team has said that the accusation is false and denied any involvement.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer has offered no additional details supporting President Trump’s claims. His only comments have been that the President has not yet spoken to him about the issue. Additionally, he said that the “smartest way” the issue could be addressed would be through Congress adding the allegation in its list of ongoing investigations.
“The House and Senate intelligence committee have the staff and the capabilities and the processes in place to look at this in a way that’s objective, and that’s where it should be done.”
Mr. Spicer was further pressed for details during the daily news briefing at the White House, where he said that Trump had “absolutely” no regrets towards his allegation. He also went on to say that the media should let the Senate and House Intelligence Committees undertake their investigations then “report back to the American people.”
When questioned on the issue of President Trump speaking to Mr. Comey, he responded that such an interaction would interfere with investigations. Therefore, such a conversation would be considered “a no-win situation.”
On Monday, US Senator John McCain called for Trump to disclose any evidence he could have on the wire-tapping so as to support his allegations.
“I think the president of the United States, if he has any information that would indicate that his predecessor wiretapped Trump Tower, then he should come forward with that information. The American people deserve it,” he said.
The President’s tweet on having his phone wired is the latest information on a case under investigation as to whether Russia influenced the outcome of last year’s election. It has been reported that Trump’s campaign had been in contact with Russia during his campaign period. The House and Senate Intelligence committees are currently investigating this issue after an inquiry was launched in January.
Now, the White House has requested these two committees also to investigate whether Obama abused his powers as President at the time and had Trump’s phone tapped. Such tapping cannot be legally ordered by the President unless a warrant is issued, most likely from the Department of Justice.
