FBI Director James Comey asked the Justice Department to publicly reject President Trump’s claim that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 election.
Comey argued that the claim is false and must be corrected, but so far the Justice Department hasn’t released any statement on the claim, the New York Times reported. The House and Senate intelligence panels, at the White House’s request, agreed to look into whether there was any government surveillance of political parties as part of a broader probe into Russian interference with the election.
Comey’s request comes a few days after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election following news reports that he met with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. last year. Sessions, who served as a surrogate for Trump, had told Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., during his confirmation hearing that he had never met with any Russian officials. He said his statement was made in the context of the campaign, but that his meeting with the ambassador was part of his senatorial duties.
President Obama, through a spokesman, has denied that he ordered any wiretap of Trump Tower.
