FBI Director James Comey 'asked department of justice to reject Donald Trump wiretapping claim'

James Comey, the FBI director, asked the justice department this weekend to publicly reject Donald Trump’s assertion that Barack Obama as president ordered the tapping of Trump Tower's phones during the presidential campaign, unnamed senior American officials told the New York Times on Sunday.

کد خبر: ۶۷۴۲۳۲

تاریخ: ۱۶ اسفند ۱۳۹۵ - ۱۰:۵۱

Telegraph - James Comey, the FBI director, asked the justice department this weekend to publicly reject Donald Trump’s assertion that Barack Obama as president ordered the tapping of Trump Tower's phones during the presidential campaign, unnamed senior American officials told the New York Times on Sunday.

According to the Times' sources, Mr Comey and the justice department have been working to reject the claim because it falsely insinuates that the FBI broke the law.

A spokesman for the FBI and the spokeswoman for the justice department declined to comment, the Times reported. The department has so far not released any public statement.

Mr Trump escalated his war with Mr Obama as a committee in Congress agreed to look into his claims that the former president and his administration abused executive powers in last year’s election.

The call for a congressional investigation was the latest high stakes salvo from Mr Trump, who has alleged that he was the victim of a dirty tricks campaign akin to Watergate.

His move came a day after the president claimed his predecessor ordered a wiretap of the phones at Trump Tower in New York, Mr Trump’s campaign headquarters.

Mr Obama has said the allegations were "simply false". His former intelligence chief also "absolutely denied" the claims. But Mr Trump told a friend: "This will be investigated, it will all come out. I will be proven right."

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations were "very troubling".

He said: "President Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016."

Mr Spicer said the White House wants the congressional committees to "exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016." He said there would be no further comment until the investigations are completed, a statement that house Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi took offence to and likened to autocratic behavior.

"It's called a wrap-up smear. You make up something. Then you have the press write about it. And then you say, everybody is writing about this charge. It's a tool of an authoritarian," Ms Pelosi said.

Mr Spicer's chief deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said she thinks Mr Trump is "going off of information that he's seen that has led him to believe that this is a very real potential."

Josh Earnest, who was Mr Obama's press secretary, said presidents do not have authority to unilaterally order the wiretapping of American citizens, as Mr Trump has alleged was done to him. FBI investigators and justice department officials must seek a federal judge's approval for such a step.