Rare News Desk
President Trump recently accused former President Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. Though a spokesman for Obama denied the unverified claim, the Trump administration called for an investigation into the matter.
The House Intelligence Committee requested that proof of wiretapping be submitted by a Monday hearing — the Justice Department has since asked for more time to gather evidence.
“If the committee does not receive a response by then, the committee will ask for this information during the March 20 hearing and may resort to a compulsory process if our questions continue to go unanswered,” a spokesman threatened. If the administration did not present evidence by Monday, then the committee would resort to a subpoena.
RELATED: Sean Spicer had an official statement on the president’s wiretapping concern
On Thursday afternoon, Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked if Trump still stood by his claim:
JUST IN: Press Sec. tells @jonkarl Pres. Trump “stands by” claims that former Pres. Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. https://t.co/n7TqA3VDnW pic.twitter.com/gIJ345X2rB
— ABC News (@ABC) March 16, 2017
ABC White House correspondent Jonathan Karl asked if the president still stood by his initial statement.
“He stands by it,” Spicer answered.
Spicer then immediately jumped into a criticism about the press’s reporting on House Intelligence Committee’s statements on Russia-related allegations. Karl disagreed, saying that he had in fact reported on the topic.
The question still remains as to what officially prompted Trump’s initial tweet.
