The White House has asked Congress to investigate Donald Trump‘s unsubstantiated claims that former president Barack Obama wiretapped his phones prior to the election. Trump made these assertions during early morning tweets Saturday morning offering up zero evidence only to tweet about Arnold Schwarzenegger leaving the ‘Apprentice’ shortly thereafter. In other words Trump was led away from a ‘Nixon/Watergate bad’ situation by his television show.
Anyways here’s the White House minister of info Shawn Spicer with the details, via tweets:
(1/4) Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling.
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) March 5, 2017
(2/4) President Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) March 5, 2017
(3/4) exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016.
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) March 5, 2017
(4/4) Neither the White House nor the President will comment further until such oversight is conducted.
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) March 5, 2017
What’s funny about these tweets by Spicer (aside from the obvious) is he says that neither the White House or President will comment until oversight is conducted… like any reporter during the Monday presser will not ask about these assertions which sound baseless. Second, the tweets were sent out just prior to the Sunday morning talk shows while offering up zero White House guests besides low-tier lackey Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Ironically enough the White House has shown minimal interest in moving forward with that whole Russian hacking the elections thing despite multiple U.S. intelligence agencies believing the Kremlin did just that. AND unlike any U.S. intelligence agencies suggesting the Obama administration ordered a wiretap on Trump’s phones which by the way the executive branch can not do.
Yesterday we suggested these claims could be coming from alt-right and far-right news sources with little to no base. The other obvious notion to Trump’s claims is a diversion after another tough week that saw the President’s attorney general Jeff Sessions recuse himself from any Russian investigations due to undisclosed meetings with Russian government officials.