The White House has asked Congress to examine whether the Obama administration abused its investigative authority during the 2016 campaign, as part of the ongoing congressional probe into Russia’s influence on the election.
Key points:
- Trump accused Obama of wire-tapping his phones during the 2016 election
- Obama administration officials explicitly deny the charges and demand explanations
- House Democratic leader calls it “a wrap-up smear” and “tool of authoritarianism”
The request came a day after US President Donald Trump alleged, without supporting evidence, that then-president Barack Obama ordered a wire-tap of the phones at Trump’s campaign headquarters in Trump Tower in New York.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Mr Trump and administration officials would have no further comment on the issue until Congress had completed its probe, potentially heading off attempts to get Mr Trump to explain his accusations.
“Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling,” Mr Spicer said in a statement.
“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 Trump made the wire-tapping accusation in a series of early morning tweets, amid expanding scrutiny of his campaign’s ties to Russia….
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