Silke Jasso
President Trump recently accused former President Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign.
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https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/837989835818287106
FBI Director James B. Comey urged the Justice Department to reject the claim, as any other would implicate it in wrongdoing.
Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, spent the weekend speaking on behalf of the White House. During a Monday morning appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Sanders and host George Stephanopolous clashed over the president’s claim:
WATCH: White House spokeswoman @SarahHuckabee responds to @GStephanopoulos' question on evidence of Pres. Trump's Pres. Obama wiretap claim pic.twitter.com/zbwIwb8SjN
— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 6, 2017
Stephanopolous asked if Trump accepted Comey’s denial.
“I don’t think he does,” Sanders responded. “I think he firmly believes that this is a story line that has been reported by quite a few outlets.”
Sanders proceeded to list which news agencies supposedly reported on claims backing the president’s when Stephanopolous stopped her.
“I have got to stop you right there,” Stephanopolous said, disagreeing that the articles listed supported Trump’s accusation. He then asked what evidence the president had.
RELATED:Â White House asks for investigation, claims Obama administration abused executive authority
Sanders and Stephanopolous argued over whether or not an order to wiretap a citizen from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court was the same as Obama directing the order. Sanders said that it did, as the Justice Department was under Obama’s jurisdiction at the time.
Stephanopolous interrupted, saying that “there’s a world of difference between a legal wiretap ordered by a president and a court-ordered wiretap approved by a federal judge.”
Sanders restated the administration’s desire to have an investigation.
Though a spokesman for Obama denied the unverified claim, the Trump administration called for an investigation into the matter.
