Lawmaker Calls Trump's Wiretap Allegations Against Obama 'Outlandish, Destructive'
PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBSLA.com) — "Outlandish and destructive" is what Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) says of President Trump's allegations that former President Obama tapped telephones at Trump Tower.
This comes amid a series of tweets in which Trump suggested that the alleged wiretapping occurred during the 2016 presidential election.
"How low has President Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process," Trump tweeted. "This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!"
Trump wrote that the alleged wiretap happened at Trump Tower in New York, but offered no evidence. The tweets follow a story published Friday on the conservative website Breitbart News, detailing similar claims that Obama surveilled Trump.
A spokesperson for the former president responded, saying in part: "… neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false."
At a Town Hall event in South Carolina, Sen. Lindsey Graham said illegally wiretapping Trump would be troubling, but he said it would be equally concerning if Trump was legally surveilled.
That, he said, could mean there had been evidence of activity between the Trump campaign and foreign governments.
"It's my job as a United States Senator to get to the bottom of this," Graham said.
But Schiff also released a statement, indicating: "The president offered no evidence to support this spectacularly reckless allegation."
He went on to say, "No matter how much we hope and pray that this president will grow into one who respects and understands the Constitution, separation of powers, or demonstrates even the most basic regard for the truth, we must now accept that President Trump will never become that man."
Schiff also took to Twitter to comment on the allegations:
A former senior U.S. official with direct knowledge of Justice Department investigations under Obama says that Trump's phones were never tapped.
