Justice Dept: No Evidence Obama Wiretapped Trump Tower

According to new court filing
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 2, 2017 4:46 PM CDT
Court Filing: No Basis for Trump's Claim Obama Wiretapped Him
Former President Barack Obama delivers his speech during the 4th Congress of Indonesian Diaspora Network in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, July 1, 2017.   (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

In a court filing Friday night, the Justice Department revealed it has no evidence of President Obama wiretapping Trump Tower ahead of the election—despite President Trump's claims to the contrary, CNN reports. "Both FBI and [the Justice Department's national security division] confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps as described by the March 4, 2017 tweets," the Justice Department motion reads. The motion was filed in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by American Oversight. "The FBI and Department of Justice have now sided with Comey and confirmed in writing that President Trump lied when he tweeted that former President Obama ‘wiretapped' him at Trump Tower," the Washington Examiner quotes the government transparency advocacy group as saying in a statement.

"Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!" Trump tweeted in March. He added: "How low has President Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate." At the time, FBI Director James Comey said the FBI had no information to support those claims. And the White House later claimed Trump wasn't talking about wiretapping his phones specifically but surveillance in general. However, Trump's further tweets—as quoted by HuffPost—make the accusation clear: "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!" (More Donald Trump stories.)

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