White House says Trump stands by claim Obama wiretapped him

[webfact]

White House says Trump stands by claim Obama wiretapped him

By Ayesha Rascoe and Doina Chiacu

REUTERS

 

The Trump Tower logo is pictured in New York, U.S., May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump stands by his accusation that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the 2016 presidential campaign, the White House said on Thursday, despite three senior lawmakers rejecting Trump's claim.

 

The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee said in a statement they saw "no indications" of surveillance at Trump Tower in New York as the president claimed in Twitter posts on March 4.

 

"Based on the information available to us, we see no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance by any element of the United States government either before or after Election Day 2016," Republican Chairman Richard Burr and Senator Mark Warner, the committee's Democratic vice chairman, said in a statement.

 

The top Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, on Thursday added his voice to those saying there was no sign of a wiretap.

 

But White House spokesman Sean Spicer forcefully defended Trump's assertion during a briefing, citing media reports that have discussed intelligence collection on possible contacts between Trump associates and Russia in the campaign.

 

"There is no question that there were surveillance techniques used throughout this," Spicer said.

 

When pressed for further evidence, Spicer chastised the media for focussing so much attention on comments disparaging Trump's claim about surveillance. He said reporters have not focussed enough on comments from officials denying evidence of any collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

 

The Russian government has rejected an accusation by U.S. intelligence agencies that it worked to influence the election in Trump's favour by hacking computer systems, among other methods.

 

House Speaker Ryan told reporters: "The point is, the intelligence committees in their continuing, widening, ongoing investigation of all things Russia, got to the bottom - at least so far - with respect to our intelligence community that - that no such wiretap existed."

 

An official familiar with the investigations by Congress and intelligence and law enforcement agencies said investigators have looked as aggressively and thoroughly as they can for evidence of any spying on Trump or his associates but have found none.

 

Trump, a Republican, made the accusation six weeks after he took over the presidency from Democrat Barack Obama.

 

Trump accused Obama of wiretapping him during the late stages of the campaign, but provided no evidence. Obama said through a spokesman that it was "simply false."

 

"How low has President Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!," Trump wrote.

 

At least four congressional committees added the startling accusation in their investigations of possible Russian meddling in the election campaign and Russian ties to Trump and his associates.

 

On Wednesday, House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican, and top Democrat Adam Schiff told reporters they had seen no evidence that Trump Tower was tapped and said they would ask Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey about the issue during a public hearing on Monday.

 

Ryan told reporters he received the same intelligence briefing as Nunes and Schiff.

 

Trump appeared to back away from his accusation of wiretapping in a Fox News interview on Wednesday night.

 

"But wiretap covers a lot of different things. I think you’re going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks," Trump said.

 

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by David Alexander and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-17

[maewang99]

it's a Game Show now. from Trump's childhood.

which one of you is Obama? and which one is the USA?

 

would you please stand up?

 

North Korea is "totally controlled" by "China" but which to everyone else is several thousand Communist Party cadre next door to.... a North Korean military cadre that even Kim Jung Un, who spends a lot of time there, is having trouble with.... along with the new US FATCA bank account paperwork... but "China" totally controls North Korea.

and Obama is still out to get him.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2017 by maewang99

[stevenl]

So he had hundreds of people running around looking into this, based on nothing, and will keep on doing that. All the time those hundreds could and should be doing other things, some extreme vetting of cabinet candidates maybe?

sent using Tapatalk

[craigt3365]

Quote

But White House spokesman Sean Spicer forcefully defended Trump's assertion during a briefing, citing media reports that have discussed intelligence collection on possible contacts between Trump associates and Russia in the campaign.

Good gosh. He's getting his intelligence from the media.  The same media he says publishes fake news.  The man is insane.

 

P.S. Let's remember this started with a "shock jock", nut job radio guy that was then covered by Breitbart.  Hmmm....seems Bannon is pushing him on this??

Edited March 17, 2017 by craigt3365

[craigt3365]

This is worth watching.  They say they admit some surveillance may have happened against some Trump associates as part of the Russian hacking scandal.  But even the top Republican has admitted they have Zero evidence.  This top Republican supported Trump during the elections.

 

It's absolutely insane.  Watch this:

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/03/16/sean-spicer-wiretap-claims-press-brief-depressing-acosta-tapper-lead.cnn

 

Trump doesn't seem to be mentally stable.  Sad a person like Spicer doesn't just quit.  Zero morals.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/16/politics/paul-ryan-wiretap-response/index.html

Edited March 17, 2017 by craigt3365

[ezzra]

 Can you prove to me you don't have a sister? same with the wire tapings,

can any one prove Obama didn't wire tap Trump? proving the negative is

 hard and impossible to do and this is why Trump is getting everyone running

around like a headless chickens,,, I wish he'd  do far less twitting though....

[iReason]

Ryan, Senate Intel committee see no evidence of Trump wiretap

 

"The speaker of the House, the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat on the committee said Thursday that they've seen no evidence of President Donald Trump's accusation that he was wiretapped last year by his predecessor."

 

"We have not seen any evidence that there was a wiretap or a (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court order against Trump Tower or somebody in Trump Tower," Speaker Paul Ryan said in an interview Thursday on CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer.

 

"I think the President's going to be marked and judged by his record," Ryan said. 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/16/politics/paul-ryan-wiretap-response/

 

None. Zip. Nada.

 

But send the bill to Trump Tower.

Edited March 17, 2017 by iReason

[Berkshire]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

 Can you prove to me you don't have a sister? same with the wire tapings,

can any one prove Obama didn't wire tap Trump? proving the negative is

 hard and impossible to do and this is why Trump is getting everyone running

around like a headless chickens,,, I wish he'd  do far less twitting though....

In this case, it would be quite easy for the President to find out.  All he'd have to do is call the people who would be doing the wire-tapping.

[Silurian]

4 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

In this case, it would be quite easy for the President to find out.  All he'd have to do is call the people who would be doing the wire-tapping.

 

Well, according to Spicer and the "waste of space" POTUS, wiretapping means all sorts of surveillance. Maybe Obama had his ear up to the wall? Or had the microwave taking pictures?

 

 

 

[Get Real]

Next time he will insist on that he is followed by ghouls and ghosts!

Better he use his time to find out where he´s going to hide for not be assassinated before his election period is over.

[Emster23]

" it's a Game Show now. from Trump's childhood. "

Hmmm like "Who do you trust?" maybe "What's my line?" or "Let's make a deal"? we all know "The Price is Right"

If I thought Trump capable of a line of reasoning that lasts more than a nanosecond, I might think this is a way Trump can be removed from office so he can go back to his regular job of scams, frauds and cheating. He doesn't want to quit, but would like to exit. "Nobody knew being president involved so much real work"

[Silurian]

Looks like the "waste of space" POTUS is so obsessed with surveillance because he does it on his own properties. What a slime ball.

 

'...telephone eavesdropping and video surveillance have indeed long taken place at Trump properties — it’s just that they were conducted by Trump’s own team.'

 

Why Is Donald Trump So Obsessed With Surveillance?

https://www.buzzfeed.com/aramroston/why-is-donald-trump-so-obsessed-with-surveillance?

 

 

[craigt3365]

On 3/17/2017 at 9:24 AM, Silurian said:

Looks like the "waste of space" POTUS is so obsessed with surveillance because he does it on his own properties. What a slime ball.

 

'...telephone eavesdropping and video surveillance have indeed long taken place at Trump properties — it’s just that they were conducted by Trump’s own team.'

 

Why Is Donald Trump So Obsessed With Surveillance?

https://www.buzzfeed.com/aramroston/why-is-donald-trump-so-obsessed-with-surveillance?

From your article.  Trump's a definite nutter.  Sick man:
 

Quote

 

At his private club at Mar-a Lago, as BuzzFeed News revealed last June, Trump listened in on employee phone calls using a special switchboard that was installed in his bedroom and was connected to every phone line in the estate.

.....

Trump himself has claimed that he possesses information on the personal lives of his hotel guests. In a little noticed passage in his 2000 book The America We Deserve, Trump wrote that he knew of at least one conservative senator who had “spent more than a few nights with his twenty-something girlfriend at a hotel I own.” 

 

 

[Silurian]

Well, not the FBI but British Intelligence...yeah, that's it...British Intelligence. Have to pick someone that Congress can't investigate.

 

Sean Spicer just suggested that Obama used British intelligence to spy on Trump. Not so much.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/03/16/sean-spicer-just-suggested-that-obama-used-british-intelligence-to-spy-on-trump-not-so-much/?

 

[Blindedbythelight]

1 hour ago, Berkshire said:

In this case, it would be quite easy for the President to find out.  All he'd have to do is call the people who would be doing the wire-tapping.

That would be Obama ?

And he is out golfing.

[jayboy]

Well, not the FBI but British Intelligence...yeah, that's it...British Intelligence. Have to pick someone that Congress can't investigate.
 
Sean Spicer just suggested that Obama used British intelligence to spy on Trump. Not so much.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/03/16/sean-spicer-just-suggested-that-obama-used-british-intelligence-to-spy-on-trump-not-so-much/?
 

The alleged British connection (through GCHQ) doesn't make any sense.The British know they have to work with both Democrat and Republican administrations, and would not risk the fall out of being exposed as partisan in this way.It is inconceivable that Obama should have made such a request of the British anyway.

On the other hand GCHQ is very actively monitoring Russian communications, and in my view it's perfectly possible they had spotted disturbing information relating to Russia and the Trump camp.If so they would have advised the American intelligence agencies with which there are extremely close ties.Could Obama have been informed? Very probably - but he would not have been the initiator.

The issue therefore is not Obama's culpability but Trump's potential treason with its impeachment implications.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[ilostmypassword]

23 minutes ago, Blindedbythelight said:

That would be Obama ?

And he is out golfing.

If you mean that Obama could have checked on whether or not he authorized the alleged wire tapping, why would he have done so?

The question is what are the results of any investigation Trump has authorized into this? So far, it doesn't seem like it's turned up anything.

As for golfing, Trump is already way ahead of where Obama was in hours spent on the golf course 8 weeks into their respective terms. You really don't want to bring up time spent on the golf course if you're looking to defend Trump's Presidential work ethic.

[Blindedbythelight]

4 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

If you mean that Obama could have checked on whether or not he authorized the alleged wire tapping, why would he have done so?

The question is what are the results of any investigation Trump has authorized into this? So far, it doesn't seem like it's turned up anything.

As for golfing, Trump is already way ahead of where Obama was in hours spent on the golf course 8 weeks into their respective terms. You really don't want to bring up time spent on the golf course if you're looking to defend Trump's Presidential work ethic.

Cannot defend anything Trump does. But the more time he spends on the golf course, the less time he can tweet stupid things.

[otherstuff1957]

Everyone is pointing out that Trump Tower was not wiretapped.  Nobody, especially not Trump, is asking if the Russian Ambassador was being wiretapped!  Calls from Trump's campaign could easily have been intercepted and recorded if they were made TO someone else who was under surveillance, like the Russian Ambassador or Alfa Bank.

[craigt3365]

5 minutes ago, otherstuff1957 said:

Everyone is pointing out that Trump Tower was not wiretapped.  Nobody, especially not Trump, is asking if the Russian Ambassador was being wiretapped!  Calls from Trump's campaign could easily have been intercepted and recorded if they were made TO someone else who was under surveillance, like the Russian Ambassador or Alfa Bank.

Good point.  But many are looking into the Russian connection.  A lot going on there.  And we know either Flynn was wiretapped or the Russian Ambassador as that conversation was noted previously. 

 

Everybody has said that some of Trump's campaign staff could have been part of some surveillance.  Remember, Manafort quit the campaign due to his relations there.

 

Trump specifically called out Obama for wiretapping Trump Towers.  Which has been proven untrue.  And he said some nasty and vile stuff about Obama.  100% unacceptable.

[kowpot]

5 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

This is worth watching.  They say they admit some surveillance may have happened against some Trump associates as part of the Russian hacking scandal.  But even the top Republican has admitted they have Zero evidence.  This top Republican supported Trump during the elections.

 

It's absolutely insane.  Watch this:

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/03/16/sean-spicer-wiretap-claims-press-brief-depressing-acosta-tapper-lead.cnn

 

Trump doesn't seem to be mentally stable.  Sad a person like Spicer doesn't just quit.  Zero morals.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/16/politics/paul-ryan-wiretap-response/index.html

I was going to watch it, then I noticed it was a link to CNN.  

[Old Croc]

I stopped reading many of these US political threads because of the large number of Thaivisa, Sean Hannity wannabes who would come out in force to attack any viewpoints other than that espoused by Fox News.

 

Where have they all gone?  Is there a "Sorry I got it all wrong" thread where they can distance themselves from the raving loony they helped put in the most important job in the world?

[craigt3365]

9 minutes ago, kowpot said:

I was going to watch it, then I noticed it was a link to CNN.  

Too bad you missed it.  Has nothing to do with CNN. It's just a shot from the press room showing the insane Spicer.  CNN is doing a great job of holding the administration's feet to the fire. 

[freebyrd]

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

 Can you prove to me you don't have a sister? same with the wire tapings,

can any one prove Obama didn't wire tap Trump? proving the negative is

 hard and impossible to do and this is why Trump is getting everyone running

around like a headless chickens,,, I wish he'd  do far less twitting though....

Twitting hits the nail on the head as he is a twit and far worse. It's a  matter of great concern that a man with that much power is totally out of touch with reality, he lives, and 'works' in la la land.

 

I've never wished anyone dead, but I reckon I would breathe a sigh of relief if a LHW took him out, and Pence too, who has to be as big a fruitcake as to support this loony.

[Briggsy]

Watch out, watch out.

 

Trump makes a huge noise and drama out of nothing that rolls on for days and weeks, taking up all the front pages. What is going on in the background that he doesn't want talked about? What are Jared and Eric up to? Selling buildings to the Chinese at strangely inflated prices that the Chinese seem happy to pay. What else is going on?

 

This is classic Trump. Distract, distract, distract through artificially created drama whilst keeping the dirty deals out of the limelight.

[Andaman Al]

This is all just insane and the interview with Carlson Tucker and Trump on Fox was simply the ramblings of a madman.

 

Regarding the wire tapping - just the start!

 

Quote

TRUMP:  Well, I've been reading about things.  I read in, I think it was January 20 a "New York Times" article where they were talking about wiretapping.  There was an article, I think they used that exact term.  I read other things.  I watched your friend Bret Baier the day previous where he was talking about certain very complex sets of things happening, and wiretapping.  I said, wait a minute, there's a lot of wiretapping being talked about.  I've been seeing a lot of things.

Now, for the most part, I'm not going to discuss it, because we have it before the committee and we will be submitting things before the committee very soon that hasn't been submitted as of yet.  But it's potentially a very serious situation.

 

CARLSON:  So, 51,000 people retweeted that.  So a lot of people thought that was plausible, they believe you, you're the President -- you're in charge of the agencies.  Every intelligence agency reports to you.  Why not immediately go to them and gather evidence to support that?

 

TRUMP:  Because I don't want to do anything that's going to violate any strength of an agency.  We have enough problems

Read the transcript here, you have to scroll down a bit for the wire tapping insanity, but the rest of the interview is just as insane. WHEN will they impeach this buffoon?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/03/16/donald-trump-explained-twitter-the-universe-and-everything-to-tucker-carlson/?utm_term=.2c268d6d4162

 

If you took out the name Trump and just read this as any old interview, you would conclude quickly that the person being interviewed had mental problems.

[Old Croc]

You don't have to look far to work out why Trump hates Obama

 

[Andaman Al]

And a madman tries to defend a madman

 

 

[Caps]

........and the Circus keeps performing.   Well there is one thing, I get a good laugh when I read about it all......I wonder when the US are going to get a president rather than a little school boy who keeps throwing tantrums because he is top of the class.  

When I, as a non american was being force fed it everyday on the news, I thought he might do some good....now I am starting to thing maybe the US is going from world leader to world comedy act 

[Basil B]

Now saying it was the British GCHQ who bugged him... 

 

What next??? The Irish Government sent in leprechauns to plant bugs...

 

What worries me the he has access to state secrets and will just spout anything out on Twitter or of the cuff during a press conference or TV interview, he is a bigger liability than Edward Snowden.