GOP Senator Demands Trump Explain His Claims Obama Wiretapped Trump Tower
The Republican Party has supported President Donald Trump’s new administration with a few exceptions, but one GOP Senator made a bold call Saturday for President Trump to back up his claims that former President Barack Obama illegally wiretapped Trump Tower last October. Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) issued the statement calling for Trump to cite his sources and clarify “what sort of wiretap it was and how he knows this.”
“The President today made some very serious allegations, and the informed citizens that a republic requires deserve more information. We are in the midst of a civilization-warping crisis of public trust, and the President’s allegations today demand the thorough and dispassionate attention of serious patriots. A quest for the full truth, rather than knee-jerk partisanship, must be our guide if we are going to rebuild civic trust and health.”
President Trump Has Another Busy Night On Twitter
Sasse is referring to a series of tweets by President Trump where he accused Obama of breaking the law and compared him to disgraced former President Richard Nixon and his Watergate scandal, as well as former Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
As reported by Business Insider, Obama spokesperson Kevin Lewis issued a response statement Saturday afternoon clarifying that Trump’s allegations were false.
“A cardinal rule of the Obama Adminstration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice. As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.”
Senator Sasse Wants To See The Surveillance Application
Sasse made the case that without evidence backing President Trump’s claim that Trump Tower was illegally wiretapped, it would be possible that a legal wiretap took place, but only with the authorization of a court order based on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. A judge would only issue such authorization if there was probable cause to suspect wrongdoing on the part of Trump. Sasse demanded President Trump provide the application for the alleged surveillance request and provide it to the public, or at least the Senate.
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President Trump Just Discovered Wiretapping Rumor First Reported Months Ago
However, Business Insider also noted that rumors about possible wiretaps have been in the media for several weeks, including allegations that the FBI had requested such a warrant from FISA back in October of 2016, right before the election. The warrant was allegedly requested to investigate people in Trump’s campaign having improper contact with the Russian government, which has since been confirmed at least in the case of Michael Flynn, who resigned as National Security Adviser over the scandal. And now, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is facing scrutiny over failing to disclose two meetings with Russian officials before the election.
Back in January, the BBC alleged a senior U.S. intelligence official confirmed the wiretapping warrant had been granted, but no proof or corroborating evidence supports the claim at this time.
Sasse’s unusual break from the party line comes just after House Republicans voted against moving forward to force President Trump to release his tax returns to investigate any conflicts of interest or business ties with Russia. According to The Hill, Representative Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey) proposed a resolution requiring the House of Representatives to have the House Ways and Means Committee review 10 years of Trump’s tax returns. Pascrell’s resolution would have forced a vote on requesting the release of tax returns, but it failed after a vote along party lines, with the GOP majority striking it down.
[Featured Image by Jim Lo Scalzo/Getty Images]
