GCHQ dismisses as ridiculous claims it helped spy on Trump

[snoop1130]

GCHQ dismisses as ridiculous claims it helped spy on Trump

 

FILE PHOTO: Satellite dishes are seen at GCHQ's outpost at Bude, close to where trans-Atlantic fibre-optic cables come ashore in Cornwall, southwest England June 23, 2013. REUTERS/Kieran Doherty/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency dismissed claims made on a U.S. television station that it helped former President Barack Obama eavesdrop on Donald Trump after last year's U.S. presidential election.

 

In a rare public statement, Britain's eavesdropping agency said the charge - made on Tuesday by Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano - was "utterly ridiculous".

 

"Recent allegations made by media commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano about GCHQ being asked to conduct 'wire tapping' against the then President Elect are nonsense," a spokesman for GCHQ said.

 

"They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored," the spokesman said.

 

GCHQ never usually comments on criticism of its work beyond saying it always operates under a strict legal framework.

 

Reuters reported earlier this week that an unidentified British security official had denied the allegation that GCHQ had eavesdropped on Trump.

 

Trump, who became president in January, tweeted earlier this month that his Democratic predecessor had wiretapped him during the late stages of the 2016 campaign. The Republican president offered no evidence for the allegation, which an Obama spokesman said was "simply false".

 

On the "Fox & Friends" program, Napolitano, a political commentator and former New Jersey judge, said that rather than ordering U.S. agencies to spy on Trump, Obama obtained transcripts of Trump's conversations from Britain's Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ, the equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency, which monitors overseas electronic communications.

 

White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Thursday quoted Napolitano's comment on GCHQ.

 

GCHQ, based in a futuristic building named the doughnut because of its shape located in Cheltenham in western England, is one of three main British spy agencies alongside the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service and the MI5 Security Service.

 

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-3-17

[trogers]

What stronger legal framework is there than a Presidential order?

[ilostmypassword]

2 minutes ago, trogers said:

What stronger legal framework is there than a Presidential order?

It's just barely possible that a stronger legal framework might be something called the Constitution of the United States.  It established a system of government that has 3 branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.  A system of checks and balances. Does any of this ring a bell with you?

[Guest]

Trump and his cronies have now angered few of USA's closest western allies. Meanwhile Russia / Putin keeps the spot of best friend in the world for Trump.

Are you not worried yet?

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/17/us-makes-formal-apology-britain-white-house-accuses-gchq-wiretapping/

 

[losworld]

They really need to investigate the backend contractors for NSA etc. for leaks too.

[trogers]

3 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

It's just barely possible that a stronger legal framework might be something called the Constitution of the United States.  It established a system of government that has 3 branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.  A system of checks and balances. Does any of this ring a bell with you?

How does such a constitution be of value to a Brit?

[Grouse]

I am astounded and comforted at the ignorance about what GCHQ can do!

 

They will never do it, but a show of capability would be great right now. Release of Trump's tax returns would amuse!

 

Remember when a pair of Vulcans flew over New York without interception? Great stuff!

[ilostmypassword]

3 hours ago, trogers said:

What stronger legal framework is there than a Presidential order?

 

3 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

It's just barely possible that a stronger legal framework might be something called the Constitution of the United States.  It established a system of government that has 3 branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.  A system of checks and balances. Does any of this ring a bell with you?

 

16 minutes ago, trogers said:

How does such a constitution be of value to a Brit?

Your original point was about a Presidential order. Whether or not it has value to a Brit seems besides the point.

[trogers]

25 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

 

 

Your original point was about a Presidential order. Whether or not it has value to a Brit seems besides the point.

You miss the point. Legality does not cross borders. But the power to sign trade agreements does...

[ilostmypassword]

3 minutes ago, trogers said:

You miss the point. Legality does not cross borders. But the power to sign trade agreements does...

It's not much of a power. A President's signature is not enough. A trade agreement still needs the approval of Congress. 

Take Nafta, for instance. It's true that the final bill was signed by Clinton. But it had to get through both houses of Congress first. Democrats in the house voted mostly against it. But Republicans were virtually unanimous in their support of it.

Edited March 17, 2017 by ilostmypassword

[Scott]

Numerous off-topic posts and replies removed, including those from unapproved sources.  

 

"I saw it on the internet, so it must be true" doesn't quite cut it in a reasonable discussion.  

 

The thread is about the GCHQ role in a possible wiretapping.   Stay on topic.  

[darksidedog]

I am still waiting to see ANY evidence from anywhere that Donalds claims have any merit.

All we have to date is more denials than you could expect from a Thai Junta.

[overherebc]

I reckon Trump spent too long reading his favourite comic strip when he was a kid.

Edited March 18, 2017 by overherebc

[Srikcir]

I'm waiting for Trump to come the full circle - Obama engaged the Russian FSB to "wiretap" Trump Tower.

But Trump must hear that allegation on FOX before he'll make the charge.

[boomerangutang]

2 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I am still waiting to see ANY evidence from anywhere that Donalds claims have any merit.

All we have to date is more denials than you could expect from a Thai Junta.

Denials are half the story.  

 

              His primary motivation is diversion and wasting peoples' time, in order to divert from what's of prime importance:   Whether Trump or anyone in his group colluded with the Russians to swing the election.  It's borderline treason.   It's illegal for several other reasons, not least is perjury.

 

           Mainstream media is doing ok.  They're not shy any more about calling Trump a liar - that's good.  However, they keep pussy-footing around when saying, "so far, there's no hard proof......" when referring to Trump and his peoples' many illegal activities.  Reality:  THERE IS PROOF, and we've only seen a small fraction of what exists.   There's LOTS MORE UGLY SHIT on Trump which hasn't yet been released.  

 

            Some of the proof (of Trump and his peoples' illegal activity) which has already manifested: 

Sessions and Flynn lying under oath = perjury.   Pence lying.  Trump Lying repeatedly/daily, including false accusations re; Obama.  Nobody has mentioned this yet, but the 9th commandment of the Ten Commandments is; THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THEY NEIGHBOR.

 

Trump could slip by that by saying, "Obama isn't my neighbor.  He's out somewhere else.  He's a bad dude.  He's probably out slipping metal shavings in to orphan kids' oatmeal." 

[jobsworth]

On 3/17/2017 at 6:18 PM, ilostmypassword said:

It's just barely possible that a stronger legal framework might be something called the Constitution of the United States.  It established a system of government that has 3 branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.  A system of checks and balances. Does any of this ring a bell with you?

yes in theory it is a great system but it has a serious flaw which is being exploited.

while the executive branch which is the president and the legislative branch which is the senate and the house of representatives are all elected,

the judiciary which is the supreme court is appointed by the president.

the founding fathers could not have conceived the duplicity that is modern man.

instead i prefer our british system which has no written constitution and has so many different checks and balances

that it is almost impossible to hijack the system.

 

[aslimversgwm]

26 minutes ago, jobsworth said:

yes in theory it is a great system but it has a serious flaw which is being exploited.

while the executive branch which is the president and the legislative branch which is the senate and the house of representatives are all elected,

the judiciary which is the supreme court is appointed by the president.

the founding fathers could not have conceived the duplicity that is modern man.

instead i prefer our british system which has no written constitution and has so many different checks and balances

that it is almost impossible to hijack the system.

 

100% agree. Anything as important as a country's constitution is always going to have flaws as national and world events develop or unfold which would, understandably, have been totally unforeseen by the constitutional drafters. Thailand is another prime example - how many attempts has this country had at getting it right? A fruitless task. 

[kamahele]

It's almost too embarrassing to read or watch the news as an American these days. Who thought it would be a good idea to accuse our closest ally of spying on the President elect?

[stander]

President Trump issued a formal apology to Britain over the wiretapping claims, and at the same time refuses to back down from his claims that Obama wiretapped him through a British intelligence agency.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/17/us-makes-formal-apology-britain-white-house-accuses-gchq-wiretapping/

[Traveler19491]

1 hour ago, jobsworth said:

yes in theory it is a great system but it has a serious flaw which is being exploited.

while the executive branch which is the president and the legislative branch which is the senate and the house of representatives are all elected,

the judiciary which is the supreme court is appointed by the president.

the founding fathers could not have conceived the duplicity that is modern man.

instead i prefer our british system which has no written constitution and has so many different checks and balances

that it is almost impossible to hijack the system.

 

 

Actually, Supreme Court Justices are not appointed by the President. They are nominated by the President. They must then be confirmed by the Senate, which is where the checks and balances on judicial nominations come into play. The only flaw that exists in this particular setup is what we have right now, where the White House and both Houses of Congress are controlled by the same party, thus potentially sidestepping those safeguards. However, given Trump's diminishing popularity even within his own party, it's possible (albeit improbable) that he could experience difficulty getting his nomination approved. That said, his increasing unpopularity will give the Democrats more leverage in demanding a somewhat more moderate nomination than what the Republicans might otherwise rubber stamp.

[Guest]

20 hours ago, oilinki said:

Trump and his cronies have now angered few of USA's closest western allies. Meanwhile Russia / Putin keeps the spot of best friend in the world for Trump.

Are you not worried yet?

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/17/us-makes-formal-apology-britain-white-house-accuses-gchq-wiretapping/

 

And here goes Germany, which is currently the strongest country in the world against Putin's / Russia's stategy to weaken the western power.

Are you still not convinced that Trump is just Putin's playboy? It's time to wake up and see what is in front of you.

Btw Merkel is the one with PhD on hard sciences. No wonder why Germany is doing so well. We all deserve intelligent leader for our countries. 

 

 

[Srikcir]

4 minutes ago, stander said:

President Trump issued a formal apology to Britain over the wiretapping claims, and at the same time refuses to back down from his claims that Obama wiretapped him through a British intelligence agency.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/17/us-makes-formal-apology-britain-white-house-accuses-gchq-wiretapping/

 

White House press secretary Sean Spicer flatly denied Friday that the White House apologized to the British government after citing an uncorroborated Fox News report to allege that a UK intelligence agency spied on President Donald Trump at the behest of former President Barack Obama.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/17/politics/gchq-trump-wiretap-denial/

 

[Traveler19491]

10 minutes ago, stander said:

President Trump issued a formal apology to Britain over the wiretapping claims, and at the same time refuses to back down from his claims that Obama wiretapped him through a British intelligence agency.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/17/us-makes-formal-apology-britain-white-house-accuses-gchq-wiretapping/

 

In the future, you might want to consider actually reading the article you provide a link to. That way you won't look so foolish. Nowhere in the article does it state that Trump himself made any sort of apology. What it says is that Spicer and Gen. McMaster apologized. If anyone thinks that the over-inflated ego of the orange tinted so-called President would ever permit him to actually apologize for anything then they've had their head in the glue bag for way too long. In Trump World, apologies are for losers.

[NumbNut]

18 minutes ago, oilinki said:

And here goes Germany, which is currently the strongest country in the world against Putin's / Russia's stategy to weaken the western power.

Are you still not convinced that Trump is just Putin's playboy? It's time to wake up and see what is in front of you.

Btw Merkel is the one with PhD on hard sciences. No wonder why Germany is doing so well. We all deserve intelligent leader for our countries. 

 

 

 

Now that is petty, and speaks volumes to his character and amateur mindset. Does he not realise his every move, or in this case his every non-move, is going to be analysed? This was a media event, two leaders of the free world meet and this flea can't even shake her hand!

 

This bloke has no idea how to carry himself as the leader of the free world.

 

The Art of the Deal indeed!

[mike324]

18 minutes ago, Traveler19491 said:

In the future, you might want to consider actually reading the article you provide a link to. That way you won't look so foolish. Nowhere in the article does it state that Trump himself made any sort of apology. What it says is that Spicer and Gen. McMaster apologized. If anyone thinks that the over-inflated ego of the orange tinted so-called President would ever permit him to actually apologize for anything then they've had their head in the glue bag for way too long. In Trump World, apologies are for losers.

" Mr Trump said his White House should not be blamed for quoting a Fox News analyst. "

 

Really still don't understand why Trumps party keep on quoting other news sources than back down and make clarifications saying its not their fault for the false/misleading report. Why even quote it in the first place? silly

[Srikcir]

4 minutes ago, mike324 said:

" Mr Trump said his White House should not be blamed for quoting a Fox News analyst. "

 

Really still don't understand why Trumps party keep on quoting other news sources than back down and make clarifications saying its not their fault for the false/misleading report. Why even quote it in the first place? silly

 FOX disavows its own analyst's claims:

"Fox News cannot confirm Judge Napolitano's commentary. Fox News knows of no evidence of any kind that the president of the United States was surveilled at any time in any way, full stop,”

http://thehill.com/media/324555-foxs-shep-smith-fox-cant-confirm-analysts-claim-that-uk-helped-obama-spy-on-trump

 

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, stander said:

President Trump issued a formal apology to Britain over the wiretapping claims, and at the same time refuses to back down from his claims that Obama wiretapped him through a British intelligence agency.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/17/us-makes-formal-apology-britain-white-house-accuses-gchq-wiretapping/

In a press conference with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, on Friday afternoon, Mr Trump said his White House should not be blamed for quoting a Fox News analyst.

"We said nothing. All we did was quote a certain very talented legal mind who was the one responsible for saying that on television," he said.

"You shouldn't be talking to me, you should be talking to Fox."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/17/us-makes-formal-apology-britain-white-house-accuses-gchq-wiretapping/

Presenting the AMAZING BUCK! It stops everywhere but the Oval Office.

[dunroaming]

The whole Trump fiasco is going on far too long.  It is a slow embarrassing death for the USA's credibility and his Presidency surely must be halted.  The Trumpsters need to stop this continual denial of what a monumental mistake electing Trump was and wake up to reality!  We all make mistakes and boy is this a Biggy!

[Senior Player]

I wouldn't trust the GCHQ to tell the truth here, and more fool you if you believe them. After all, this is the very same GCHQ that was implemented alongside the NSA in whistleblower Edward Snowden's security leaks of worldwide wiretapping and recording of every users information. They're known for data mining from smart phones and PCs, that's what they specialise in, and they never admit the truth, no matter what. Take a look at all their past denials of data mining other countries governments and you'll see "no comment". So why the press release now?

 

Let's also not forget that Obama, perfect-lovable-Obama,  wiretapped the EU de-facto leader Angela Mad Merkel before getting found out, then had to apologise. Truth was, Obama was wiretap happy during his presidency. And yet, because these snakes-in-the-grass Trump opponents tell you what you want to hear, because your hatred of Trump is so paramount, you believe them. Well, the Establishment knows how to kick a dog when it's down, and that's what's going on here.

 

 

[dunroaming]

1 minute ago, Senior Player said:

I wouldn't trust the GCHQ to tell the truth here, and more fool you if you believe them. After all, this is the very same GCHQ that was implemented alongside the NSA in whistleblower Edward Snowden's security leaks of worldwide wiretapping and recording of every users information. They're known for data mining from smart phones and PCs, that's what they specialise in, and they never admit the truth, no matter what. Take a look at all their past denials of data mining other countries governments and you'll see "no comment". So why the press release now?

 

Let's also not forget that Obama, perfect-lovable-Obama,  wiretapped the EU de-facto leader Angela Mad Merkel before getting found out, then had to apologise. Truth was, Obama was wiretap happy during his presidency. And yet, because these snakes-in-the-grass Trump opponents tell you what you want to hear, because your hatred of Trump is so paramount, you believe them. Well, the Establishment knows how to kick a dog when it's down, and that's what's going on here.

 

 

Yes but the White House have come out and apologised and accept that there was nothing whatsoever to suggest that GCHQ did any such thing.  They have admitted that they were pppping in the wind.  Obama's administration was caught out tapping Merkel and apologised but what has that to do with this?  That didn't involve GCHQ, that was the American security services and not even Trump is now pointing the finger at them.  I am all for calling people to account but in this case there is nothing to account for.