Sen. Ben Sasse: US is ‘in the midst of a civilization-warping crisis of public trust’

“The President today made some very serious allegations, and the informed citizens that a republic requires deserve more information,” Sasse said in a statement released Saturday afternoon. “[T]he President’s allegations today demand the thorough and dispassionate attention of serious patriots. A quest for the full truth, rather than knee-jerk partisanship, must be our guide if we are going to rebuild civic trust and health.”

The Tea Party-affiliated senator then laid out an explanation of what may have transpired.

“If there were wiretaps of then-candidate Trump’s organization or campaign, then it was either with FISA Court authorization or without such authorization. If without, the President should explain what sort of wiretap it was and how he knows this. It is possible that he was illegally tapped,” Sasse said.

“On the other hand, if it was with a legal FISA Court order, then an application for surveillance exists that the Court found credible,” Sasse added. “The President should ask that this full application regarding surveillance of foreign operatives or operations be made available, ideally to the full public, and at a bare minimum to the U.S. Senate.”

Earlier Saturday, Trump posted a number of tweets claiming former President Barack Obama was a “bad or sick guy” who had ordered phones at the Trump campaign’s headquarters in Manhattan be tapped.

Trump did not cite a source regarding how he learned his new information. Breitbart News, where his chief strategist Steve Bannon previously worked, recently published a story which explores conservative radio host Mark Levin’s claim that the Obama administration used “police tactics” to undermine Trump’s campaign. The article discusses reports about the Obama administration applying for a FISA court warrant to tap Trump Tower in New York City to investigate suspected links to Russian banks.

An Obama spokesman later put out a statement pushing back against Trump’s “simply false” allegations that the Obama White House had ordered any wiretaps.

Sasse wasn’t the only Republican to call on Trump to provide more information.

“This allegation has serious implications. @POTUS should provide more info to Congress immediately to assess constitutionality and legality,” tweeted Michigan Rep. Justin Amash.