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Trump asks Congress to help find evidence Obama tapped his phones during campaign

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By DARLENE SUPERVILLE

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People need to start accepting the fact that there is no more "dignity" in the US presidential office. We elected a conspiracy theorist to the highest office in the nation. Within a month, he's reduced our international standing and moral authority. And he's quickly taken aim reduce the credibility and power of the free media, judicial department, and intelligence agencies. Just imagine what he's going to accomplish if he's allowed to govern for another four years.

We have a serious constitutional crisis on our hands right now.

20 ( +24 / -4 )

From Fox News today: "Trump has based his wiretap allegation on a recent Breitbart News story and comments by conservative talk-show host Mark Levin, but has yet to provide his own evidence." http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/05/cotton-sure-senate-intelligence-panel-will-address-trump-wiretapping-claim.html

Here's how it happened.

An article is published by Heat Street talking about unconfirmed reports of one of Trump's servers making communications with a bank server in Russia from two anonymous sources (Trump's favorite) in counter-intelligence. Supposedly a warrant is sought and eventually granted to monitor the server. Supposedly they find nothing but continue to monitor.

That's how it starts. No mention at all of Obama up to anything dirty whatsoever.

Publications like the NY Times, Fox News, and BBC investigate, but are unable to confirm it. About the server, nothing with Obama's involvement. No one has said anything about Obama up to this point.

Breitbart steps in and the fun begins.

Breitbart takes the information from Heat Street and invents the narrative that this is an attempt by Obama to spy on Trump to get information during the election. From the article: "the Obama administration sought, and eventually obtained, authorization to eavesdrop on the Trump campaign"

So now an investigation, which has neither been confirmed nor denied, turns from a server communicating with Russia to a theory, completely invented by the good people at Breitbart, that Obama is spying on Trump by "bugging Trump Tower" get get dirt on him and his campaign.

Trump logs into Twitter and tells the world that he's received reports that Obama bugged Trump Tower to spy on him during the election. His sources? The NY Times, BBC, Fox News and right wing media (which would be Heat Street and Breitbart).

Now on talk shows Trump surrogates are putting those mainstream media outlets front and center to explain why we need to investigate Obama....while omitting the fact that none of them mentioned Obama. The "connect the dots" accusation is exclusively coming from the nutballs over at Breitbart, the publication Steve Bannon used to run, Trump's closest advisor.

Trump surrogate Sarah Huckabee Sanders goes on ABC This Week and promotes Breitbart's narrative earlier today. She mentions the NY Times/BBC/Fox reports are sources in order to trick his supporters into thinking publicans like the BBC and Breitbart are on the same page, which they are not. Only Breitbart made the accusation against Obama that Trump is now using.

She talks around direct questions about who the original source was and instead plays the same card Fox did against Clinton and beings a string of "ifs". "If Obama did this then it's the greatest overreach of power by a President in American history."

And that's where we are now. An investigation into a server is turned into Obama personally going after Trump because that's what Breitbart said.

Trump fans, you have your narrative. No evidence, but a narrative. Go to work.

19 ( +23 / -4 )

Presidents can't execute a wire tap. That's what police do. if there was a FISA court approved warrant executed there will be transcripts. Presidents can be withheld from reading them and subsequent investigations if they are the subject of the warrant.

Trump wants distraction off him hence another Twilter meltdown

13 ( +15 / -2 )

As top honcho, doesn't Trump have direct access to intelligence files? Instead of asking someone else to 'investigate' something that has no grounding in reality, he could just produce the evidence.

That is, he could if there was any. He hasn't done and shows no signs of doing, because there is nothing to produce.

America, are you seriously going to put up with four years of this ongoing fiasco? It's quite entertaining for the rest of us, but hardly doing your world standing any good.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

And here's where you see it in action. From Sanders, the Trump surrogate, on ABC this morning.

Reporter: These are extremely serious charges the President is making. Where is the president getting his information?

Sanders: There have been quite a few reports. I know that others have mentioned that it's all conservative media but that's frankly not true. The NY Times, BBC, have also talked about it and reported on the potential of this having had happened. (there's the conflation...only Breitbart mentions the theory...the mainstream in no way implicated Obama) (cut out the part talking about the need for an investigation - distraction)

Reporter: Was the principal source the Breitbart story that links to the NY Times, but the NY Times doesn't say anything definitive, Donald Trump does. There is noting equivocating about what he says. "I just found out that Obama had my wires tapped." That's not looking into something, he says it happened.

Sanders: Look, I think the bigger thing is - you guys are always telling us to take the media seriously, well we are today. We are taking reports that places like the NY Times, Fox News, BBC, multiple outlets have reported this, all we're saying is let's take a closer look. If this happened, if this is accurate, this is the biggest -

Reporter: But you're not saying we should look into this. The President of the United States is accusing the former president of wire tapping him.

Sanders: I think that again, something - that if this happened -

Reporter: If? If? If? If?

Sanders: I-I-I (laughing)

Reporter: Why is the president saying this did happen?

Sanders: I think the President is going off of information he's seen that has lead him to believe that this is a very real potential, and if it is, this is the greatest overreach and the greatest abuse of power that I think we've ever seen and a huge attack on Democracy itself and the American people have a right to know if this took place.

Reporter: OK, let me say again. The president said it did take place. Why does he believe these articles that you say you cite and I'm saying they are not definitive. Breitbart brings them all together - with Heat Street - they have 2 sources with links to the counter-intelligence community. That's it. Anonymous sources. The President constantly says he doesn't like anonymous sources and he doesn't like leakers.

Sanders: (distracts by saying how when Trump uses them the media jumps on him for it but they use them)

12 ( +12 / -0 )

wrap-up smear.

During the deflector-in-chief's reign expect even more neologisms.

From Corporal Schicklgruber:

"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it."

11 ( +12 / -1 )

About the lies...

US intelligence is investigating whether or not Trump and the Russians had communication during the election in order to help Trump get elected. That's the main investigation. Personally, I don't think they worked together. Russia doesn't need to coordinate with Trump to release their hacking information so why risk it? They can do it on their own and help him without risking communicating about it.

My guess is that the investigation will conclude and will not have enough evidence to show definitive wrongdoing by Trump and his team. Just my opinion based on the logic above.

A separate issue is the investigation as to why Trump's buddies lied about meeting/speaking with the Russians. That is a question that remains to be answered and has nothing to do with the investigation mentioned above. It's already been proven that they talked to the Russians and lied about it. Flynn lied, and Trump and others kept quiet even after they learned he lied. Sessions lied as well. That won't change based on the investigation into Trump and the Russians working together.

If and when the investigation concludes about collusion and Trump is vindicated, he will give his fans talking points to make it sound like everything has been vindicated, even their lies about meeting the Russians. That will be their narrative going forward, "Look, Steve, the CIA investigated and said there was no wrongdoing and now it's time for the American people to put this aside and focus on the problems blah blah blah." It's also a good device for them to drop Breitbart's narrative about Obama spying on him if it's shown to be false.

Let's just all move on and put this behind us...

10 ( +12 / -2 )

CrazyJoeMAR. 06, 2017 - 08:51AM JST We have a serious constitutional crisis on our hands right now.

Agreed. And it's only going to get more serious.

Trump's blatantly creating a propaganda cycle where the news organization that "used to be" run by his fashy chief adviser is manufacturing fake news, which Trump then cites. By citing it, it gets reported by real news, even though there is no evidence at all. And his birther/Benghazi/pizzagate conspiracy-loving loon followers will bray as loudly as they can to put the focus on this fake news and not on real potential treason against the American people.

I give it a year. If Trump has not been impeached by then and his administration isn't dismantled by then, then a democratic USA will probably not survive. It will have become an authoritarian, oligarchical state. With powerful intelligence agencies, drones, and nuclear weapons to secure its hold on power for generations.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

It may not have been Obama but somebody did ask the FBI. And it was late October. all hearsay and speculation with no concrete evidence to back it up. Basically what Trump and his admin is based on. Trump just throwing another tantrum to try and deflect the heat away from him, all self-inflicted. Trump is turning into "the boy who cried wolf"

10 ( +13 / -3 )

A lot of you are falling into the trap of underestimating Trump again, which is basically how he got elected

I am not underestimating Trump. I am properly estimating the veracity of things that come out of his mouth or Twitter feed, which is usually zero.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

U.S. President Donald Trump turned to Congress on Sunday for help finding evidence to support his unsubstantiated claim that former President Barack Obama had Trump’s telephones tapped during the election.

Umm, Trump could simply ask his own executive branch for the information. Unless of course, he himself is under a criminal or intelligence investigation.

Also, surveillance is only allowed if there is evidence or wrong^doing or a likelihood of finding such evidence. In addition, it is only granted through a court order.

By admitting that he was under surveillance, he is admitting that people thought he or those in Trump tower was acting criminally or in collusion with foreign government intelligence.

Overall, this is a weak counter-punch by Trump and looks like it is already backfiring. It is only a smoke screen to cover up news being released daily about Trump's campaign lying about people not having any contact whatsoever with Russia, when at least five people had connections.

Also, there is the Russian oligarch who paid 2.5X the market value for one of Trump's Florida homes and ended up being the highest price ever paid for a home in the U.S., in excess of USD250M. FAA records show he followed the Trump campaign (in his own private jet) around the country.

Trump's crimea position comes out in the GoP convention after Trump's teams meet with Russian ambassador. Timing of DNC hack releases coinciding with Trump pro-Russian comments and comments that downplay Russia hacking of election.

There are too many questions not to have an independent investigation.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Trump asks Congress to help find evidence

Yeah, well he should probably not have made the claim without any evidence in the first place. Breitbart is not evidence.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Obama has his hands in this somewhere.

Ok, so based on the level of evidence you seem to require to find plausible guilt, you would then have to agree that you wouldn't be surprised if Trump's tax returns showed he is indebted to the Russians, correct?

9 ( +12 / -3 )

No one in the media/Dem party will accept any evidence that comes directly from Trump anyway.

How can you say that? He would need to come up with some evidence for us to not accept before you can make that judgement.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

They should investigate it and do it quickly. Too many delays getting things accomplished. Lefties on here seem to have top secret information based on their comments.

Investigate what? Trump delusions?

If they start putting together inquiries to get to the bottom of all of those, it will bog down the system until it cannot even function.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

"Hey Congress, help me find evidence because I don't have any."

8 ( +11 / -3 )

No one in the media/Dem party will accept any evidence that comes directly from Trump anyway.

No evidence has come directly from Trump. There is no evidence. And who can blame them, this is a man who lies about the weather.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

He really is a loon.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Why didnt Obama deny it all rather than having a spokeman put out a vague statement?

That statement seemed quite clear to me. "Neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false" Pretty emphatic I'd say, which part do you have trouble with? Obama is under no duty to personally respond to the twitter rantings of a desperate man at 5am.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Blacklabel: He is the President now, he obviously has access to things that commenters on the internet and the media dont.

Apparently he has access to information the Senate Intelligence Committee doesn't have. Rubio went on TV this morning to say that this is all news to him.

And apparently he has access to information the former director of the NSA doesn't have since his statement is the emphatic denial of Obama tapping Trump that you're searching for.

And apparently he has access to information that the FBI doesn't have since they've publicly denied Trump's claim.

And apparently he has access to information that the media doesn't have because they have no information about Obama going after Trump. Oh, except Breitbart (Steve Bannon).

And apparently he has access to information his own people don't have since they are on talk shows saying "if" this happened and we need an investigation to find out if anything did in fact happen.

The FBI Director should be supporting the request to have the congressional intelligence committee look into this. Instead, he is trying to get the Justice Department to say it is false prior to investigation.

No. It has nothing to do with him blocking an investigation. Comey is saying that his agency did not engage in the illegal activities Trump is claiming. What you don't understand is that if Obama ordered an illegal wiretap, then the FBI also acted illegally by complying. That's to say Trump's accusation against Obama is also a direct accusation against the FBI. Comey wants to make it clear that no such thing happened.

Remember that only Trump has this super secret evidence that no one else on earth has. You're asking the FBI to investigate themselves and Obama based on a claim that Trump has made that he hasn't produced a single shred of evidence for. And no, the FBI hasn't refused. If the senate starts an investigation they will comply.

bass: but I think there's a lot more to this and I wouldn't be surprised at all if Obama has his hands in this somewhere.

And you also think Obama is a secret Muslim working on behalf of Middle Eastern countries. You are Trump's target audience and the reason why he does things like this. With no evidence whatsoever you start talking about how these incredible movie-like plots could really be happening. It's not really that far removed from a guy who thinks Clinton runs a sex ring out of a pizza shop.

Think all you want. Come back when you have evidence. And saying Trump has the goods and you just believe him because whatever isn't evidence. It's you just hoping against all odds for a miracle hail Mary to fall out of the sky and into your lap, and you're going to keep that window open forever with "maybe, maybe not".

7 ( +9 / -2 )

"Don't count on it. The bookies have slashed the odds dramatically on him not seeing out a full term since the circus kicked off 6 weeks ago."

"Yeah, the looney far left living in their own delusional warped fantasies."

Bookies are looney left? I've often heard them described as heartless vultures feeding off wounded animals.

Are bookies Bolsheviks on the lunatic fringe?

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Don't count on it. The bookies have slashed the odds dramatically on him not seeing out a full term since the circus kicked off 6 weeks ago.

Yeah, the looney far left living in their own delusional warped fantasies.

Bookies are looney left?

I was referring to the far Alt-left progressives.

Once again Bass shows his inability to follow the subject of a conversation.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

I think Trump wants the truth to come from the intelligence committee investigation rather than having to prove it all himself.

Which is how it should be done. But announcing it happened before an investigation, without showing any evidence, and then saying 'I can't talk about it' is just irresponsible leadership.

But an effective method of drawing attention away from Pence and Sessions.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Blatant, evidence-be-damned lying once again from Trump who is absolutely unfit for office in a plainly impeachable way.

Trump attempting to undermine the authority of the CIA and the FBI in his first couple of months as president prove one thing to me. That he's profoundly stupid, not to mention entirely out of touch with reality.

Once again, stuff made up by paranoid people on the extreme right of US politics ends up as a public debate. Or then, again, perhaps Trump knows that he already has no credibility whatsoever, so he might as well try and distract from the probable fact that he's a Russian stooge for corporatist interests to further foul the swamp that they claim that they wanted to drain.

Well done rust belt - you voted for a traitor who wants to sell US interest to Russian oligarchs and in the process do the exact opposite of what you elected him to do. BAD!

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Imagine how things will play out when he rolls out one of these Breitbart nutball theories in response to an international incident. Or when he plainly lies about something when responding to a foreign leader. Scray stuff.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Tokyo-EngrMAR. 06, 2017 - 10:53AM JST The U.S. will survive as certain checks and balances have already kicked in and further checks and balances will limit is power

Checks and balances exist on paper. They only really have power so long as the people defending them are stronger than the people trying to tear them down. We can't depend on Congress to defend checks against Cheeto Mussolini because Congress are dominated by a particularly spineless incarnation of the Republican party.

We already have very powerful intelligence agencies engaging in unwarranted spying on American citizens and foreign nationals. We already have drones and they have been used to kill U.S. citizens. We already have nuclear weapons.

And the only thing stopping our leaders from using those things to create an authoritarian state so far has been that all of our leaders to this point, regardless of if we agree with their policies or not, have at a bare minimum had a sense of shame and a sense of dignity. At the end of the day, even the worst Presidents we've ever had (whichever party anyone may think they come from) have at least cared about the legacy they were leaving for a free America. We can't say that's true about Trump.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

"Only 46 1/2 more months of this moron"

Don't count on it. The bookies have slashed the odds dramatically on him not seeing out a full term since the circus kicked off 6 weeks ago.

I've had a pretty decent bet on him not being there by the next election.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

That is not how it works. You don't accuse someone of something without having the evidence to back up your allegations. Asking for evidence AFTER publicly stating Obama tapped his phone, but it's Trump, so these types of allegations are to be expected.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Mr. Comey has argued that the highly charged claim is false and must be corrected ......prior to it even being investigated? To me, that is refusing to investigate.

No, refusing to investigate would be a refusal to investigate. He's simply refuting the unsubstantiated claim that Trump made against his department.

he seems pretty confident they will find something without him telling them what or how.

Yeah, and he was confident that Obama was a Muslim not born in America as well. Trump's confidence is hardly an indicator of truth.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

cleo: "As top honcho, doesn't Trump have direct access to intelligence files?"

Exactly. It's already been stated that as the President he can open the files and check for himself, but refuses to do so and instead is demanding this probe. He refuses to because he knows he is full of crap, and there is no proof at all. The whole thing is a smokescreen to take away from Sessions and Bannon. The more he doubles down on the garbage then says, "I won't make any (non-Twitter) comments until the probe is complete," or what have you, the more his brainless supporters moan and groan about Obama (not President any more) and demand you forget about all the other crises Donnie is putting the nation in, and the lies he's spewing.

Russia? forget about it! No proof! So what if more than 5 people talked to Russian diplomats during the election when we said zero. All lies, even though they admitted it and have recused themselves! But we don't need proof about Donnie's claims. Instead let's prosecute Clinton Aide's over her use of emails because we want to take away from the Town Hall meetings ripping us to shreds! And don't you dare mention Pence doing the same thing as Hilary -- it's different!

bass4funk: "And he shouldn't have to"

He shouldn't have to prove his claims??

5 ( +9 / -4 )

So no evidence yet? Doesnt mean there isnt any

Like Stranger said, if the level of evidence to entertain a charge of guilt is ZERO then Trump & his Russian friends are in yuuuuge trouble

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Do you guys really think he is going to tell what his evidence is or where he got it from PRIOR to waiting for everyone to lie about it first?

Right, because every time in the past when Trump has claimed to have secret knowledge or a secret plan he has always made those statements pay off with actual evidence or actual plans. Like his secret plan to defeat ISIS in 30 days. Or his secret plan to replace Obamacare with something better. Or...well, basically everything he has ever said.

Clearly we would be fools to not buy into this right now based solely on his word.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

This is becoming more pitiful by the second! So now he wants congress to focus on him allegedly being wiretapped,but at the same time he wants the FBI to stop looking into the alleged ties to Russia,what a spoiled little orange hair brat.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

If no evidence is found to back up his accusation, Trump should apologize

This is a very serious accusation - ya just don't accuse an ex-President of this

Normally, when there are suspicions, ya investigate it first. Then --and only then-- if evidence are found, that's when ya can accuse

But he just accused an ex-President of criminal activity, and he doesn't even have any evidence in front of him

So if nothing is found, he not only have to "write a correction" to his accusation, but he also has to apologize publicly as the tweet

5 ( +6 / -1 )

This guy is making me stop reading the news, seriously. I'm very tired of him already.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

So the basis of Trump's claim is some kind of secret information that only he knows, and based on that information that he won't share, he wants the Senate to investigate to see....what exactly? If they stumble across the same information he has? Then they release it in a report, then Trump releases his secret information, and it's a match?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Even if you're a Trump supporter, you'll have to ask yourself, why support a man who would easily attack and cast lies about fellow Americans, but would soon praise and be friendly with enemies like Russia?

5 ( +6 / -1 )

@Dango bong - I believe wiretaps have been in the Trump Tower longer than since last October. I also believe they may be related to an investigation and NOT related to the election or politics at all.

Read the article below where Mukaski (Attorney General under BUSH and not necessarily a supporter of Trump) makes some very interesting statements.

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/322403-former-bush-ag-trump-right-that-there-was-surveillance

I think wiretapping has been going on but I do NOT think this was done by Obama. I also think this could turn into a big mess as although this was not perpetrated by Obama and likely not for any political reasons it may expose the reality of what the U.S. surveillance state has become.

Again, Trump is making an a$$ of himself by tweeting! This is something he would have been better off saying nothing about.

I am now starting to wonder if Trump is for real or if he has been allowed to arise to power for more nefarious reasons (to divide the U.S. beyond repair). One year ago I would have thought such a statement is crazy.....I am now starting to think otherwise. Things are getting stranger by the day.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Even senators are finally catching on to Trump's distraction game. Unimaginative repetition will do that. It's only been over a month and Trump's word is dirt.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

But even in the boy who cried wolf story from when we were kids, didnt the wolf actually show up at the end?

Good allegory. It teaches children the idea of being trustworthy, something Trump is not.

Trump must have missed that one and only remembers the golden rule:

The one with the most gold makes the rules.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Illegals DID vote, but not as many as he said.

The intent behind what is said gives meaning to what was said. He was trying to claim that he beat Hillary in the popular vote, and that there were enough illegal votes to have given her the popular vote. There very well may have been a few illegal voters, but no one has been charged (which you can be sure they would be), so your claim that there WERE illegal voters is suspect, but even if there were, the numbers would have to be in the millions for his hyperbole to have any meaning.

Muslims DID cheer, but not as many as he said or in the places he said.

There is zero evidence whatsoever that Muslims were cheering by the thousands in New Jersey (or was it Manhattan?) which he was using to show that American Muslims were supporting the towers being bombed. Muslims cheering in other countries doesn't support his supposition, so once again his hyperbole is meaningless.

Inauguration size

He was claiming to have had the most attended inauguration ever, so if the numbers don't support that, once again his hyperbole is being used to build up a lie.

Basically you just tried to justify a bunch of his false claims. And look how many you had to provide, and that's barely even scraping the surface. And we aren't even two months into his presidency.

This is a totally different issue, this is a direct accusation that does not involved hyperbole or exaggeration at all. This is something new, presented as a statement of fact Look at all the things you just listed that he presented as statements of fact. All turned out to be false. The likelihood of this one being true is pretty limited.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Blacklabel - use some critical thinking man. With the president calling out illegals for voting, and Republicans in an absolute rage about it, do you really think that if they had found actual valid evidence of illegals voting, those illegals would not be charged and prosecuted?

Of 44 people referred for prosecution in two previous elections, Attorney General Mike DeWine's office said eight were prosecuted and five were convicted. one was reported to a diversion program, and the records were sealed in two cases so the disposition is not known.

That's the claim, so there must be records of these prosecutions. Where are they?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Well, there seems to be only paid Russian contributors left here to defend Trump. Heh, and even some of them are declining to add to the nonsense......

Grandpa is in meltdown with his Twitter account.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Almost every day new evidence comes out that Trump and Putin colluded to control the American presidential election, so of course The Chump wants to deflect criticism with baseless attacks against Obama. What a pitiful excuse for a president. Only 46 1/2 more months of this moron.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

he also has to apologize publicly as the tweet

Ha ha! - and elephants might fly. Trump never apologizes. Some might think this trait is strategic; others (myself included) view it as a byproduct of his narcissistic pathology. Consider how, after accusing Trump of being not being an American for several years, he simply dropped it:

I don't talk about that anymore.

That was the extent of his apology for the trouble he had caused: Once circumstances made his stand disadvantageous, he abandoned it in six words.

I look forward to what people say at his funeral - that is, if any attend.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

@bass

I would say, to start with getting all the Democrats, purge them, get them out of office

When I hear the word "purge", I think of Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, or the Kim dynasty. I thought you were nonpartisan. Are you comfortable with purges?

I don't know what to believe and yes, I would give Trump the benefit of a doubt

When in doubt, trust the guy who's built his career on BSing. Makes sense. Tell me, does Trump have a relationship with Putin or not? Has he met the guy or not? Is he going to appoint a special prosecutor to lock up Hillary or not? Does he despise Wall Street or does he need these fellers to fill his cabinet? Is he going to release his taxes or not? Is he going to rip up the Iran nuclear deal on day one or not? (I guess that one's too late.)

4 ( +5 / -1 )

How does he know he was tapped?

He saw it on Breitbart. You know, the bastion of unbiased quality reporting that never reports fake news.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Everyone around him, especially the one carrying the codes, should just stand up, walk out, and head over to the Vice President's office. Execute Amendment 25. Take away his desk, phones, and keys.

Impeachment isn't necessary when your president is a flat out loon

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The fact that Trump bases all of his facts on a low-life form of media (Breitbart), and can't even come up with any evidence to any of his claims, shows just how little he understands the world. It is quite disturbing that he truly believes in this form of media for his information and is easily swayed by whatever they print. Equally disturbing is how his followers believe his 'facts' which are based on Breitbart's 'facts'.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

This fella is just trying to use scare and fear tactics to introduce some kind of defense thing (the wall) to "protect Americans from the evils that try to harm America".

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Do you guys really think he is going to tell what his evidence is or where he got it from PRIOR to waiting for everyone to lie about it first? He is the President now, he obviously has access to things that commenters on the internet and the media dont.

If this is true, then the responsible thing to do as president is to keep his mouth shut, and have an investigation done in private while it's verified, or at least a probably is confirmed to the point at which the public can be informed that an inquiry is being opened because the FBI or whomever have put together a case on the matter. By tweeting it with no supporting evidence, he has torn the country apart a little further, by making accusations which the public has nothing to use to be able to verify or deny their truth.

Let's all be realistic here, the timing of this is too perfect. He's doing this to deflect attention from Sessions and Pence, and it's working beautifully. The left is chasing the squirrel, and the right is just happy their hypocrisy regarding Sessions and Pence is not being scrutinized.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

It's not use trying to reason with Trumptards. They will believe his lies and follow his illogical thinking to no ends. Take for example when many of his followers (as well as Trump himself) admitted that the election would ONLY be considered as rigged, if Hillary would've won, but if Trump won (and he did), then it was fair. They also believe that if the media is saying positive things about Trump, then the media is being fair, but once there is anything negative about Trump, then it must be 'fake news'. It's now gotten to the point where if there is any news any of his followers don't agree with, then it must be 'fake'.

Moderator: Please repost without the word "Trumptards."

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Trump has ruined everything Obama worked so hard without sleep during last eight years. He said Obamacare is expensive and unworkable. Now he has compared Obama with Richard Nixon who committed watergate crime. He said Obama was so low however he was so high as son of the God.

During my teen, Nixon was a President and he rewarded press who were friendly to him. He loves censorship. Both Nixon and Trump hates freedom of speech. They want compliments. No criticisms. Obama may be hated by Trump. He was a darling of media.

If Trump is keep mentioning Nixon, he may share the cruel fate of his political idol.Trump is not doing his job properly and tweeting most of his spare time. He should do less tweeting and perform more productive works such as economy, reducing foreign debt and analyzing intelligence reports.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

cleo: "As top honcho, doesn't Trump have direct access to intelligence files?">

Exactly. It's already been stated that as the President he can open the files and check for himself, but refuses to do so and instead is demanding this probe.>

He can only access the files if he is not the subject of the investigation. Still, there are no files. His paranoia is getting the better of him.

Oh, Obama said he didnt do it- so thats enough for most of you somehow. You wont consider he found something or was told something and is just using others to confirm what he already knows or found?>

That is where the word "trustworthy comes from." As in Obama is more trustworthy than Trump because of their history with the truth. There is also the credibility issue associated with the topic.

So no evidence yet? Doesnt mean there isnt any. Just like his other no evidence claim that illegals voted in the election? Oops, its being hidden mostly but yeah they actually did.....>

More Alt-Right BS and Alternative Facts. Say it enough times, and people start to believe it.

What Trump knows is from Alt-Right group (Brietbart news) conspiracy theories, which were vaguely based on NYT, BNC reports that there was a FISA warrant to check on Trump campaign's contacts with Russia.

The Obama National Director of Intelligence clearly said over the weekend that there was no FISA warrant against Trump.

So, it is all just more Trump BS.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I am interested to what happened and how he knows.

I don't think anything happened, and I think he knows nothing. Or at least if something happened he still knows nothing. He had a rotten end to his week with the Pence & Sessions debacles. He was up all night burning with rage. He saw some spurious reports on one of his chosen TV channels, he lashed out. It's what he often does. Ironically he now needs this to go away soon, the Dems need this to rumble on. Its going to be hugely damaging within his party.

Unless, of course, he really does have evidence! :)

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Video of Trump in meltdown over Jeff Sessions and then storms off to Florida for the weekend without his senior staff. Like a child who had his candy stolen. Trump swearing like a trooper.

Personally I call that video sloppy reporting at best, fake news at worst. A bit of a video taken through a window, with speculation and unnamed sources as to what may have been said in the meeting.

That kind of reporting is what is causing people to lose faith in the media. There is more than enough verifiable craziness from Trump without needing to resort to sloppy reporting like that.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Okay let's have Congress investigate. Let's have BOTH Obama AND Trump testify. If Obama ordered this alleged wiretapping he goes to jail. If this turns out to be a waste of public monies for political reasons Trump resigns.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

So bonkers AND paranoid.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I don't get this:

If Trump didn't have the evidence with him in the very Oval Office that Obama allegedly wiretapped him, then why did he even tweet it in the first place?

That's putting the cart before the horse

Now he's asking Congress to do the legwork for him?!

Don't write checks that you're putting other people to cash

Oh wait wait, remember this? "Saddam Hussein had WMDs" - please help find evidence to back up that premature claim too

Make an allegation first, then find something, anything to make it look true later

Seems this is just trying to distract people from current issues with Russian contacts

And now, FBI Director James Comey (praised by Trump for his guts) asks the Justice Department to publicly reject Trump’s ‘wiretap’ claims

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/fbi-director-james-comey-asks-justice-department-to-publicly-reject-trumps-wiretap-claims/

since Trump made the unsubstantiated allegations on Saturday, Comey has been trying to get the Justice Department to confirm for the public that the FBI did not break the law and spy on the president’s business headquarters in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election.

Former aide to Pres. George W. Bush David Frum said on Twitter that Comey’s rebuke is unprecedented, writing, “If report is accurate, the director of the FBI is rebuking the president of the United States as a fantasist & liar.”

Trump done messed up. This is a lesson for everyone that don't believe everything you read on the internet - could be big trouble for you later on down the road

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Wires tapped? Maybe he's referring to the strings between him and Puppetmaster Bannon.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

So does Trump not trust the FBI again? During the campaign he claimed they were working for the Democrats, then he praised them, then he turned on them. Then as Pres he praised them and now what?

Maybe his supporters can gather enough tin foil to wrap around the White House, his limo, his plane and a helmet... maybe then his paranoia will ease... though I doubt it.

How does he know he was tapped? Did he see a bug one day? Did he hear strange noises on the phone? Personally I think it's a deflection. He's clearly inept and is using this as a smoke screen. My car would make a better president.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

"I've had a pretty decent bet on him not being there by the next election."

"I bet the opposite."

If I were you, I'd wait a little while before placing a bet if you haven't done so already. The odds on Trump lasting a full term have only moved in one direction since the well-oiled machine started humming away in January. If you see odds in the region of 2/1, get your money down quick.

That's assuming the bookies haven't overthrown the government and created the new workers paradise in the meantime.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Trump claimed so he has to bring evidence.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Trump is just playing there game with his Obama accusations, and good for him, since THEY(the deep state) are the enemy of the a average American people.

So, the President of the United States should fight fake news by spreading his own fake news?

Two wrongs make a right?

Fight the evil of terrorism by being evil?

Fight Big Brother by being Big Brother?

How low do ya think a President of the United States should go?

And how much respect and integrity do ya think the Office of the US President should be left with?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

great plan to have the nuclear football in the hands of a loon. What could possibly happen?

Even greater is having a loon who implicates himself in a FISA wiretap which is approved in a secret court that a former President can't issue. He's basically calling himself out. Does he have a split personality disorder?

The sycophants here though are the real scary bunch. There is no line they wouldn't cross. They'd follow Trump down a nuclear winter. Yikes

3 ( +5 / -2 )

The man is going berserk. He should put down his twitter toy and start acting like a statesman governing the country. But more and more it seems he is incapable of that.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Mr. Trump is crying foul, nothing else but just that...

2 ( +5 / -3 )

To make an accusation of such magnitude without any evidence at all it reckless to say the least. This is exactly the kind of thing that will tear the country apart even further. When do the chants of "Lock him up!" start in reference to Obama? Goodbye America.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Why didnt Obama deny it all rather than having a spokeman put out a vague statement? His own ex speechwriter said to be careful about taking that statement as proof that it didnt happen. He simply said HE didnt order it. But DOJ and FBI work for him, so if they did it he should know about it and approve of it. There is more to see here, no need to move on so hastily.

The only thing to see is a train wreck by the name of Trump. The vague statement was actually emphatic. Obama doesn't need to respond to every crackpot statement made by Trump. It would just give unneeded dignity to a man devoid of dignity.

Trump can ask his own DoJ. There is nothing to see here except another day in Trump's administration. Lies, and conspiracies.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

How else can he make sure that it will be investigated?

Um, he's president. Not that hard.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Trump is prone to hyperbole and exaggeration, that much is known. Most of everything that is called a lie falls into these categories with him. Illegals DID vote, but not as many as he said. Muslims DID cheer, but not as many as he said or in the places he said. Inauguration size, ratings, polls, grabbing women, etc etc. This is a totally different issue, this is a direct accusation that does not involved hyperbole or exaggeration at all.

His hyperbole and exaggeration on those issues were clearly lies, and these new claims are succeptible to the same exaggerations and hyperbole (lying) as his numerous previous statements on almost everything. I am sure that within the next few days we'll be hearing that by "wire tap" he meant "listening in" and that because somebody with some connection to Obama happened to be in the room with Trump when he said something, what Obama did was as good as illegal wire tapping and that is clearly what Trump meant all along and the biased media is to blame for everyone thinking that he was accusing Obama of actually wiretapping his room.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

PILF released a report last year

So in other words they found nothing whatsoever that would back up Trump's claims (then or now). Got it, thanks.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Say hey ... Zichi is still with us. Welcome back ol' boy ... been missing you. Always did like your comments, and reading what you wrote above proves you're still on the ball ...

2 ( +4 / -2 )

This had me at Breitbart. This is what's really sad about this. Breitbart's agenda can only be implemented if disinformation about immigrants is disseminated. Making this accusation is the Zgrump admin. just shooting practice rounds. If there really was evidence of wire tapping or other espionage, ( isn't that still a great word after all these decades?) why wouldn't the president consider it to be the Russians? Now imagine the Zgrump gang actually planting evidence. My god.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

"Trump is prone to hyperbole and exaggeration, that much is known. Most of everything that is called a lie falls into these categories with him. Illegals DID vote, but not as many as he said. Muslims DID cheer, but not as many as he said or in the places he said. Inauguration size, ratings, polls, grabbing women, etc etc."

So you're saying he lies. I thought it was the liberals who were guilty of skirting around the point with wishy-washy nonsense.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Texas Amp: "This could well wind up being Obama's "I did not have sex with that woman" moment. . . ."

As opposed to how many times Trump's had that moment now? How many divorces? Or was it just, "I did not sexually assault that woman... or the dozens of others..." Haha.

You might want to choose better comparisons, my friend. But then again, it'd be okay if Trump did it, since he has already an uncountable number of times -- even bragged about assaulting women -- but I guess it would indeed be huge news if Obama lied about something. Well done!

2 ( +5 / -3 )

I think liberals whipping a dead horse, please continue.....

Oh, haven't you heard? They've decided to phase out that term in favor of it's contemporary version, which is extremely descriptive: benghazimailing.

So descriptive everyone knows exactly what it means without an example.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

So the wire tapping was what, listening in on his people's dealings with Russia? If he says that's what they were tapping into then he's proven he's been in contact with the Russians, in which case he's lying about not being in contact. If he's proven not have been phone tapped then he's still lying.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

If anyone is still interested, the print version of the front page article the next day was "Wiretapped Data Used in Inquiry of Trump Aides" (NYT, 1/20/17).

I just googled this, and the 'proof' of this seems to be an image of the newspaper cover in question. But if you look, the font used in the headline is different from the other fonts used on the page. Looks like a likely candidate for a photoshopping to me.

The actual article it is referring to had a different title online, Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates, which again casts doubt on the headline. The article itself can be seen here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/trump-russia-associates-investigation.html?_r=0. Nothing is mentioned about wiretaps within the article. Neither does the article say anything about Trump being wiretapped. And finally, it does raise the troubling question, if it actually was a wiretap, and the wiretap data was used in an inquiry, then it was a legal wiretap. In that case, what were these people doing that got judge to give permission to wiretap them?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

The Trump White House is now changing its tune on wiretapping and hoping people don’t notice.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said this when asked for proof of Trump's wiretapping claims:

“It’s not a question of new proof or less proof or whatever.” Instead, the goal of Trump's tweets was simply to get Congressional investigators to look into the possibility of wiretapping.

Uh no, it's still a question of proof because in Trump's original tweets, he already accused that Obama actually did do it.

("Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!" -- Trump )

During the office of Obama only 9 prisoners were released from Gitmo. According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 113 of the 122 former detainees who have re-engaged in terrorism were released before Jan 2009, the date when Obama started in his office.

It's 8 prisoners, and it's 113 of 532, not 113 of 122:

https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/GTMO%20Reengagement%20Summary%20for%20March%202017%20Release.pdf

Of 182 detainees transferred during the Obama administration, 8 were confirmed to have reengaged — or just 4.4%

Under former Pres. George W. Bush, 113 of the 532 detainees transferred out of Guantanamo, or 21.2%, returned to fighting.

WH Press Sec. Spicer took the rare step of acknowledging that Pres. Trump made a mistake and that the White House would correct the president’s comments.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Either way, Trump's entourage and cabinet members had contact with Russian officials. Just a tactic to deflect attention.

As for Obama, if he asked for illegal wiretaps, OK, prosecute him. The investigation's budget should be taken from the wall's budget so he wouldn't waste too much money to make it stick.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

This sets up the FISA transcripts to be leaked because USA's own intelligence service doesn't want a Putin plant in office as many agents die in the field without notice. The White House leaking information to Russia is a clear and present threat. After he piped in his own applause section in front of their memorial wall during a speech that pretty much sealed the enmity

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@Katsu

I give it a year. If Trump has not been impeached by then and his administration isn't dismantled by then, then a democratic USA will probably not survive. It will have become an authoritarian, oligarchical state. With powerful intelligence agencies, drones, and nuclear weapons to secure its hold on power for generations.

I would not be surprised if Trump does not survive the next 2 years.

If Trump does survive his presidency will be that of a "lame duck" far before the next election. The U.S. will survive as certain checks and balances have already kicked in and further checks and balances will limit is power

I am no supporter of Trump and daily he reinforces my feelings as my lack of support is due to the fact I believe he is wholly unfit for office.

Now to be fair:

We already have very powerful intelligence agencies engaging in unwarranted spying on American citizens and foreign nationals.

We already have drones and they have been used to kill U.S. citizens. We already have nuclear weapons.
1 ( +3 / -2 )

That is not how it works. You don't accuse someone of something without having the evidence to back up your allegations. Asking for evidence AFTER publicly stating Obama tapped his phone, but it's Trump, so these types of allegations are to be expected.

Exactly. It's just another example of Trump not being mature enough to be a good president.

It still remains to be seen whether this attempt at deflecting attention away from Pence and Sessions will be successful however. If it is, then his lack of maturity will be balanced by his strategic abilities.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

If its that easy why is the FBI Director who works for him refusing to do it?

Where has he refused?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

The FBI Director should be supporting the request to have the congressional intelligence committee look into this.

So he shouldn't defend the FBI against baseless claims?

Maybe Trump should have worked with his organization, rather than publicly undermining them.

Anyways, he has not refused to investigate, which was your original claim, so I think we can put this tangent to rest.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@Lizz - That is an interesting article. Thanks for positing it. I am not sure why you get down voted for providing a link to the New York Times.

It does not change my feelings about President Trump (He is unfit, should not be tweeting, and looks like a complete fool). On the other hand the article backs up my thoughts that his office was being put under surveillance for reasons probably other than politics (perhaps some type of investigation). This was reinforced by an ex member of the Bush team (who was not a Trump supporter).

1 ( +2 / -1 )

twinkle twinkle little czar, Putin put you where you are

1 ( +3 / -2 )

FBI director James Comey reportedly asked the US justice department to reject the allegation Mr Obama ordered a wiretap during last year's election campaign. He is said to have asked for the correction because it falsely insinuates that the FBI broke the law.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@blackl Just like his other no evidence claim that illegals voted in the election?

What I've heard said is there's no evidence that 3 million 'illegals' voted. I can only rely on Internet searches to find info on the number of people who voted illegally. I think there probably were voters who voted illegally, but have no way to 'prove' how many actually might have; probably just like you. Based on what I've learned, I think it's highly unlikely 3 million 'illegals' voted. The ball's in Trump's court to prove his numbers. Hopefully he's not just causing another distraction from the issues that need to be dealt with.

Oh, Obama said he didnt do it- so thats enough for most of you somehow.

Not for me. I hope Congress opens it up and finds out what actually happened. I hope they look into all connections with Russia. I hope the Republicans get this underway and resolved quickly and don't turn it into another Ben Ghazi, email witch hunt.

I hope Trump's claim isn't just a grenade toss to distract the Congress away from dealing with other issues, like health care. And of course Trump and his appointees dealings with Russia.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@strangerland - Do you have statistics demonstrating Breitbart reports more "fake news" than other networks? (I actually hate the term as it sounds like something quite Orewelian)

I would imagine that Breitbart does in fact jump the gun and report things that are later proven to be wrong, as do other networks.

It is interesting to see the connections in the media today (and this is not limited to right wing or left wing sources). Take for example that wonder, Mika Brzezinski, daughter of Zbigniew Brzezinski, who puts out an appeal about Trump.

https://news.grabien.com/story-mika-tearfully-tells-viewers-trump-if-people-out-there-feel

I think that Obama absolutely DID NOT have Trump's phones tapped. I also think that Trump's allegation is immature, childish, and completely unbecoming of a President.

On the other hand I wish the so called "experts" in the media would discard their personal feelings and opinions and report facts. However the agenda is not to report facts rather manipulate public opinon.

These people are so arrogant that they would never admit that they were a factor (albeit small) in an unqualified individual (Trump) being elected President of the U.S.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The fact that Trump bases all of his facts on a low-life form of media (Breitbart), and can't even come up with any evidence to any of his claims, shows just how little he understands the world.

He isn't the only one apparently.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/trump-russia-associates-investigation.html?_r=1

Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates

On January 19th and 20th 2017, The NY Times reported that wiretaps of people on the Trump team were passed along to the Obama White House, one of the story’s authors was Michael S. Schmidt. On Saturday that same Michael S. Schmidt was one of the reporters who wrote the story, “Trump, Offering No Evidence, Says Obama Tapped His Phones.”

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I just googled this, and the 'proof' of this seems to be an image of the newspaper cover in question. But if you look, the font used in the headline is different from the other fonts used on the page. Looks like a likely candidate for a photoshopping to me.

The headline is real, indexed by all the major newspaper databases. The question is who actually did the electronic “surveillance,” i.e., collecting the content of phone calls and emails? Doesn't seem to be the FBI but all of this should be pretty easy to sort out with a halfway competent investigation.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

How about Trump just looks forward and focuses on setting a good example of leadership? If he's right about Obama, he's the bigger man. If he's wrong about Obama, he's not an idiot.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

What is quite interesting in all of this is in 2014 a man was appointed to the Board of Directors of a Ukrainian Oil Company. The name of this Oil Company was Burisma Holdings.

The name of the appointed director was Robert Hunter Biden.

What made this significant? He is (was) the son of the Vice President of the United States.

Was this reported? Not so much. Should this have been reported? Absolutely.

Should Trump's alleged connections be investigated and reported? Absolutely.

I am very anti Trump (perhaps not to the extreme as some on this website - U.S. citizens or not) but on the other hand I do believe there is a definite bias in the media and what is reported.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

If anyone is still interested, the print version of the front page article the next day was "Wiretapped Data Used in Inquiry of Trump Aides" (NYT, 1/20/17).

Again, Michael S. Schmidt perpetuating the rumor that team Trump had Russian connections, and to support his point he said that Trump’s people were wiretapped It isn't Trump or the people that voted for him who have a lot of explaining to do.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

@Laguna - Your comment on narcissism is well received and I agree with you fully. I believe our last 3 Presidents suffered from cases of narcissistic disorder. Perhaps it is what it takes to actually get elected to the presidency of the United States these days.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

@smith - you bring up a very good point. I despise leaders who take advantage of their power to assault women. In Trump's case it is not the primary reason I find him unfit for duty. In Clinton's case it just showed a severe lack of control.

On your account, I imagine Obama has never, ever lied

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

From the online article:

Mr. Manafort is among at least three Trump campaign advisers whose possible links to Russia are under scrutiny. Two others are Carter Page, a businessman and former foreign policy adviser to the campaign, and Roger Stone, a longtime Republican operative.

The F.B.I. is leading the investigations, aided by the National Security Agency, the C.I.A. and the Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit. The investigators have accelerated their efforts in recent weeks but have found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing, the officials said. One official said intelligence reports based on some of the wiretapped communications had been provided to the White House.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

didnt the wolf actually show up at the end? yep sure did, killed all the sheep , all because nobody believed the boy, no help came, even when he was telling the truth. Basically the same path Trump is going down.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

zichi - Video of Trump in meltdown over Jeff Sessions and then storms off to Florida for the weekend without his senior staff. Like a child who had his candy stolen. Trump swearing like a trooper.

https://youtu.be/Ija-VZwcznE

Is this fake news? The video doesn't show what you claim it shows.

It does show a CNN spokesmodel/reporter claiming to know what happened in a closed-door meeting that CNN did not have access to, and CNN even provided a video of several people, viewed thru a window and a very long distance lens, having a discussion about something. CNN provided no actual evidence to back up anything their spokesmodel/reporter claimed.

It's sad that CNN did such a bad job of reporting, if that can even be called reporting.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

zichi - There are many reports based on sources about Trump having a meltdown with his WH staff over the Sessions scandal and storming off to Florida without his main staff.

Based on the CNN story? Repeating fake news doesn't mean it's not fake news. It just means it's become popular fake news. It also allows people to say, "there are many reports" when the reports are simply a rehash of the original fake news story.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

If its that easy why is the FBI Director who works for him refusing to do it? He has to force these people to do their jobs by putting it in the public spotlight.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

The FBI Director should be supporting the request to have the congressional intelligence committee look into this. Instead, he is trying to get the Justice Department to say it is false prior to investigation. Based on what? No one has even looked into it yet.

So we will just wait and see what Congress does or doesnt find, no need to be in such a hurry to dismiss it.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

My last comment on this. Trump is prone to hyperbole and exaggeration, that much is known. Most of everything that is called a lie falls into these categories with him. Illegals DID vote, but not as many as he said. Muslims DID cheer, but not as many as he said or in the places he said. Inauguration size, ratings, polls, grabbing women, etc etc.

This is a totally different issue, this is a direct accusation that does not involved hyperbole or exaggeration at all. This is something new, presented as a statement of fact and I am interested to what happened and how he knows. Could be nothing again, but gotta check and see before you can say that.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

How else can he make sure that it will be investigated? He cant count on the media to push for it all by themselves like they have with this Russia narrative they seem to love. The Tweet ensures that the intelligence committee will have to look into it. Or else they look shady like the FBI Director does right now by trying to avoid investigating it.

I wish I had a 100 yen for everytime someone said the President cant order wiretaps. Sure they can, illegally. Thats kind of the point of the whole investigation. Its like saying you cant murder someone. You shouldnt, but yes you actually can.

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/us/politics/trump-seeks-inquiry-into-allegations-that-obama-tapped-his-phones.html?_r=0

Mr. Comey has argued that the highly charged claim is false and must be corrected ......prior to it even being investigated? To me, that is refusing to investigate. Trump is not talking about this anymore as he wants the intelligence committee to investigate it independently and he seems pretty confident they will find something without him telling them what or how.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

William Kristol, the public point man for the evil neocon deep state is on CSPAN this Monday morning at 8:00 am, sneering at the camera and spreading his popular fake news. You can even see his horns if you look close enough. The fact that he's against Trump should speak for itself. He's spewing the same BIG LIE the puppet masters and their corporate MSM lackeys have been conducting about Russia/Trump for the last month. Trump is just playing there game with his Obama accusations, and good for him, since THEY(the deep state) are the enemy of the a average American people.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

Well, we will see. I think Trump wants the truth to come from the intelligence committee investigation rather than having to prove it all himself. That makes sense to me, because people will dispute anything Trump says. But they cant dispute the findings of a congressional investigation.I am kind of concerned that all of you are soooo sure there is no evidence when the Obama administration did something similar to journalists a few years ago.

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

http://freebeacon.com/issues/more-illegal-alien-voters-found-in-virginia/

PILF released a report last year that found more than 1,000 illegal aliens on voter rolls in just eight Virginia jurisdictions that responded to records requests from the group. Twenty percent of the more than 1,000 individuals voted, according to the group.

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170227/non-citizens-are-voting-illegally-in-ohio-but-number-is-tiny

Coupled with similar findings in 2013 and 2015, Husted reported a total of 821 non-citizens have been identified, with 126 of them having voted in the period.

While the numbers may look significant, a tiny percentage of those discovered in two previous inquiries were pursued and prosecuted for voter fraud.

Of 44 people referred for prosecution in two previous elections, Attorney General Mike DeWine's office said eight were prosecuted and five were convicted. one was reported to a diversion program, and the records were sealed in two cases so the disposition is not known.

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

No one in the media/Dem party will accept any evidence that comes directly from Trump anyway. So he is having the people doing the investigation produce it. Nothing wrong with that, and it is actually better. I look forward to what the committee finds.

-9 ( +2 / -11 )

I wonder how all of you are so confident that a man who now has access to these types of files and this type of information directly doesnt have any evidence. Oh, Obama said he didnt do it- so thats enough for most of you somehow. You wont consider he found something or was told something and is just using others to confirm what he already knows or found?

So no evidence yet? Doesnt mean there isnt any. Just like his other no evidence claim that illegals voted in the election? Oops, its being hidden mostly but yeah they actually did.....

http://freebeacon.com/issues/more-illegal-alien-voters-found-in-virginia/ http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170227/non-citizens-are-voting-illegally-in-ohio-but-number-is-tiny

-9 ( +3 / -12 )

Don't count on it. The bookies have slashed the odds dramatically on him not seeing out a full term since the circus kicked off 6 weeks ago.

Yeah, the looney far left living in their own delusional warped fantasies.

I've had a pretty decent bet on him not being there by the next election.

I bet the opposite.

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

Trump and his family, in their security and travel demands, have already rung up as much in accounts payable by taxpayers as the Obama and Biden families did in eight years, a figure elsewhere calculated, by the Washington DC-based Judicial Watch, as topping $97m.

It still will never get to the $17 Trillion the Dems racked up over the last 8 years.

A cost he will not have made a tax contribution to since paying no taxes for past 9 years.

How would you know this?

@peter

How did you feel when Obama allowed Putin to take Russia, the Dems were silent, were silent when he allowed Putin to back up Assad, when the GOP voiced their concern, they were told to shut up, now Trump is president, we can't trust Russia, they are the enemy. Typical liberal BS. Their guy is in charge, give Russia a chance, the GOP president elect is told that Russia is our sworn enemy. It's all political.

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

It is a fact that someone in the Obama admin asked the FBI to wire tap Trump Tower, but the FBI declined. That is the whole story in a nutshell. Nothing more nothing less.

It may not have been Obama but somebody did ask the FBI. And it was late October.

-10 ( +4 / -14 )

Do you guys really think he is going to tell what his evidence is or where he got it from PRIOR to waiting for everyone to lie about it first? He is the President now, he obviously has access to things that commenters on the internet and the media dont.

Why is the FBI director trying to shut it down without any investigation? Can talk about Russia for months with no evidence of actual wrongdoing but not even 1 working day yet and they trying to shut this down? Why is the ex National Security head saying there were no FISA warrants after others already confirmed there were? Oh wait he said no warrants he is aware of that is much different.

Why didnt Obama deny it all rather than having a spokeman put out a vague statement? His own ex speechwriter said to be careful about taking that statement as proof that it didnt happen. He simply said HE didnt order it. But DOJ and FBI work for him, so if they did it he should know about it and approve of it. There is more to see here, no need to move on so hastily.

-10 ( +4 / -14 )

OK, seems most people are not willing to consider that this could have happened. Myself, I am waiting for the results of the investigation. A lot of you are falling into the trap of underestimating Trump again, which is basically how he got elected. I am not going to do that yet.

Yes, other things he has brought up were untrue or unable to be proven. But even in the boy who cried wolf story from when we were kids, didnt the wolf actually show up at the end? Then due to the complacency of people involved, the damage was much more than it should have been. Obama, Comey and Clapper have become so complacent discounting just another Trump lie (in their mind) that they might be making a big mistake on this one if someone did a bad job cleaning up.

My personal opinion is that these leakers have been leaking with impunity. So now one of the leakers messed up and leaked something they have no way of knowing other than by a phone tap in Trump Tower. All I can say is we will know one way or the other soon enough.

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

As opposed to how many times Trump's had that moment now? How many divorces? Or was it just, "I did not sexually assault that woman... or the dozens of others..." Haha.

So let me get this straight, if you have 3 divorces that makes you a bad person? What about if you are married and have a few extramarital affairs including an intern, that's acceptable?

You might want to choose better comparisons, my friend. But then again, it'd be okay if Trump did it, since he has already an uncountable number of times -- even bragged about assaulting women -- but I guess it would indeed be huge news if Obama lied about something. Well done!

The last president bragged about you could keep your doctor and your health coverage would be affordable. Hmmmm....his nose does look a bit longer than usual.

If I were you, I'd wait a little while before placing a bet if you haven't done so already. The odds on Trump lasting a full term have only moved in one direction since the well-oiled machine started humming away in January. If you see odds in the region of 2/1, get your money down quick.

Yeah, yeah, yeah....I remember last year, let's bet Trump will drop out of the race, he will never become president, the GOP will never retake the House, they will never retake the Senate, they will never win a larges legislative branch. Pardon me for saying this, but when it comes to betting with liberals, ya'll got a horrible record ratio when it comes to betting. I'm just going to discount this as more liberal junk and that's only going by the history of the Dems. As long as he does what he's supposed to do, keep his promises and most of them he has kept, he'll easily do 8 years.

-10 ( +1 / -11 )

Considering Obama and his boot lickers were caught wiretapping Angela Merkel and his administration ordered wire taps on private U.S. citizens, why would anyone think this incident would not be such a stretch?

The good thing is Congress will be investigating President Trump's claim against Obama during House Intelligence Committee investigation into the Russian hacking issue during the presidential campaign,

This could well wind up being Obama's "I did not have sex with that woman" moment. . . .

-11 ( +2 / -13 )

Bookies are looney left?

I was referring to the far Alt-left progressives.

I've often heard them described as heartless vultures feeding off wounded animals.

Raw meat is good sometimes.

Are bookies Bolsheviks on the lunatic fringe?

Depends.

-11 ( +1 / -12 )

America, are you seriously going to put up with four years of this ongoing fiasco? It's quite entertaining for the rest of us, but hardly doing your world standing any good.

I would say, to start with getting all the Democrats, purge them, get them out of office and everything else should fall in place.

@smith

He shouldn't have to prove his claims??

He should, but I also want the Obama administration as well as Valerie Jarret investigated, for good measure and to see if for any reason what, if any, involvement they have in all of this.

And you also think Obama is a secret Muslim working on behalf of Middle Eastern countries.

I think liberals whipping a dead horse, please continue.....

You are Trump's target audience and the reason why he does things like this. With no evidence whatsoever you start talking about how these incredible movie-like plots could really be happening.

Yes, because the left equally doesn't have any evidence whatsoever to back these allegations up, yes, Trump possibly could have said something way off the mark, but I'm not going to run the man down with a pitchfork and a torch until I see concrete evidence, it's just that simple.

It's not really that far removed from a guy who thinks Clinton runs a sex ring out of a pizza shop.

I never said that and besides, What does Hillary Clinton have to do with this, she's not in the WH thank God, so I could care less what the woman does.

Think all you want. Come back when you have evidence.

Back at you.

And saying Trump has the goods and you just believe him because whatever isn't evidence.

What? Ok, let's try again and take it from the top! I don't know what to believe and yes, I would give Trump the benefit of a doubt, I don't think it's too much of a task to do.

It's you just hoping against all odds for a miracle hail Mary to fall out of the sky and into your lap, and you're going to keep that window open forever with "maybe, maybe not".

Trust me, I have bigger things to worry about, I think Trump' and his administration got a handle on this, I worrry more about the (in)sanity of the Dems and libs.

-12 ( +2 / -14 )

of course its true this is bigger than watergate. trump needs to get them in prison asap.

June 2016: FISA request. The Obama administration files a request with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) to monitor communications involving Donald Trump and several advisers. The request, uncharacteristically, is denied.

July: Russia joke. Wikileaks releases emails from the Democratic National Committee that show an effort to prevent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) from winning the presidential nomination. In a press conference, Donald Trump refers to Hillary Clinton’s own missing emails, joking: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.” That remark becomes the basis for accusations by Clinton and the media that Trump invited further hacking.

October: Podesta emails. In October, Wikileaks releases the emails of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, rolling out batches every day until the election, creating new mini-scandals. The Clinton campaign blames Trump and the Russians.

October: FISA request. The Obama administration submits a new, narrow request to the FISA court, now focused on a computer server in Trump Tower suspected of links to Russian banks. No evidence is found — but the wiretaps continue, ostensibly for national security reasons, Andrew McCarthy at National Review later notes. The Obama administration is now monitoring an opposing presidential campaign using the high-tech surveillance powers of the federal intelligence services.

January 2017: Buzzfeed/CNN dossier. Buzzfeed releases, and CNN reports, a supposed intelligence “dossier” compiled by a foreign former spy. It purports to show continuous contact between Russia and the Trump campaign, and says that the Russians have compromising information about Trump. None of the allegations can be verified and some are proven false. Several media outlets claim that they had been aware of the dossier for months and that it had been circulating in Washington.

5 has been proven to be false. crimals making acusations to slow trum admin from throwing them in jail.

January: Obama expands NSA sharing. As Michael Walsh later notes, and as the New York Times reports, the outgoing Obama administration “expanded the power of the National Security Agency to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections.” The new powers, and reduced protections, could make it easier for intelligence on private citizens to be circulated improperly or leaked.

The new rules, which were issued in an unclassified document, entitled Procedures for the Availability or Dissemination of Raw Signals Intelligence Information by the National Security Agency (NSA), significantly relaxed longstanding limits on what the NSA may do with the information gathered by its most powerful surveillance operations.

These operations are largely unregulated by American wiretapping laws. Surveillances include collecting satellite transmissions, phone calls, and emails that cross network switches abroad, and messages between people abroad that cross domestic network switches.

The changes initiated by the Obama Administration in its waning days empowered far more agents and officials to search through raw intelligence data.

Jan 3rd 2017 – Loretta Lynch signs off on rule changes for phone taps. Jan 12th 2017 – WaPo reports On Phone Calls Anonymous Intel Sources Jan 15th 2017 – VP Pence appears on Face the nation. Jan 20th 2017 – Inauguration Jan 23rd 2017 – FBI reports nothing unlawful in content of Flynn call Jan 26th 2017 – Sally Yates (acting DOJ) informs President Trump there might be a conflict between VP Pence’s stated TV version (was told by Flynn), and what Intel community communicate to Yates that Flynn actually expressed to Russia. Jan 27th 2017 – White House counsel begins investigation to discrepancy.

January: Times report. The New York Times reports, on the eve of Inauguration Day, that several agencies — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Treasury Department are monitoring several associates of the Trump campaign suspected of Russian ties.

Other news outlets also report the existence of a multi-agency working group to coordinate investigations across the government,” though it is unclear how they found out, since the investigations would have been secret and involved classified information.

February: Mike Flynn scandal. Reports emerge that the FBI intercepted a conversation in 2016 between future National Security Adviser Michael Flynn — then a private citizen — and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The intercept supposedly was part of routine spying on the ambassador, not monitoring of the Trump campaign. The FBI transcripts reportedly show the two discussing Obama’s newly-imposed sanctions on Russia, though Flynn earlier denied discussing them.

Sally Yates, whom Trump would later fire as acting Attorney General for insubordination, is involved in the investigation. In the end, Flynn resigns over having misled Vice President Mike Pence (perhaps inadvertently) about the content of the conversation.

February: Times claims extensive Russian contacts. The New York Times cites “four current and former American officials” in reporting that the Trump campaign had “repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials. The Trump campaign denies the claims — and the Times admits that there is “no evidence” of coordination between the campaign and the Russians. The White House and some congressional Republicans begin to raise questions about illegal intelligence leaks.

March: the Washington Post targets Jeff Sessions. The Washington Postreports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had contact twice with the Russian ambassador during the campaign — once at a Heritage Foundation event and once at a meeting in Sessions’s Senate office.

The Post suggests that the two meetings contradict Sessions testimony at his confirmation hearings that he had no contacts with the Russians, though in context (not presented by the Post) it was clear he meant in his capacity as a campaign surrogate, and that he was responding to claims in the “dossier” of ongoing contacts.

The New York Times, in covering the story, adds that the Obama White House “rushed to preserve” intelligence related to alleged Russian links with the Trump campaign. By “preserve” it really means “disseminate”: officials spread evidence throughout other government agencies “to leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators” and perhaps the media as well.

In summary: the Obama administration sought, and eventually obtained, authorization to eavesdrop on the Trump campaign; continued monitoring the Trump team even when no evidence of wrongdoing was found; then relaxed the NSA rules to allow evidence to be shared widely within the government, virtually ensuring that the information, including the conversations of private citizens, would be leaked to the media.

treason

-13 ( +2 / -15 )

“Absolutely, I can deny it,” said Clapper...

Yeah, that's the same Clapper who previously lied under oath when asked: "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?".

Anyway, I suspect Trump would not come out with this if there wasn't any evidence.

-15 ( +2 / -17 )

They should investigate it and do it quickly. Too many delays getting things accomplished. Lefties on here seem to have top secret information based on their comments.

-16 ( +1 / -17 )

Well, we will see. I think Trump wants the truth to come from the intelligence committee investigation rather than having to prove it all himself.

And he shouldn't have to, but I think there's a lot more to this and I wouldn't be surprised at all if Obama has his hands in this somewhere.

That makes sense to me, because people will dispute anything Trump says. But they cant dispute the findings of a congressional investigation.I am kind of concerned that all of you are soooo sure there is no evidence when the Obama administration did something similar to journalists a few years ago.

Exactly, when they went after James Rosen, out of 340 Journalists, they go after a fierce Obama critic, very strange indeed.

Yeah, and he was confident that Obama was a Muslim not born in America as well. Trump's confidence is hardly an indicator of truth.

I never believed what Obama said and judging from the Wikileaks cables it seemed many of us were right. Trump thinking Obama being a Muslim was not something that could have destroyed Obama and wasn't a huge credibility factor for Obama.

-18 ( +2 / -20 )

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