White House Demands Congressional Probe Whether Obama Ordered Wiretaps
Tyler Durden's picture
Mar 5, 2017 9:19 AM
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In his first tweet, the president questioned rhetorically whether the DNC refused to let the FBI have access to its servers (as FBI director Comey confirmed previously, the DNC did in fact do that) after it learned it had been hacked: "Is it true the DNC would not allow the FBI access to check server or other equipment after learning it was hacked?" Trump asked. "Can that be possible?"
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Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
Is it true the DNC would not allow the FBI access to check server or other equipment after learning it was hacked? Can that be possible?
8:32 AM - 5 Mar 2017
16,294 16,294 Retweets 58,854 58,854 likes
He followed up with questions about President Barack Obama's own ties with Russia, referencing the infamous March 2012 "hot
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Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
Who was it that secretly said to Russian President, "Tell Vladimir that after the
8:40 AM - 5 Mar 2017
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However, the first concrete sign that Trump intends to keep the pressure on Obama, came on Sunday morning from Sean Spicer, when the White House press secretary tweeted just before 9am Eastern that as part of investigations into Russian attempts to influence the election, the White House is requesting that the congressional intelligence committees probe whether "executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016", a strong hint that Congress should look into Obama bugged Trump.
“Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling,” Spicer tweeted.
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Sean Spicer ✔@PressSec
(1/4) Reports
10:49 AM - 5 Mar 2017
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The White House spokesman then said that Trump is requesting that congressional committees determine whether “executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016.”
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Sean Spicer ✔@PressSec
(2/4) President Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees
10:50 AM - 5 Mar 2017
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Sean Spicer ✔@PressSec
(3/4) exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016.
10:51 AM - 5 Mar 2017
2,978 2,978 Retweets 6,858 6,858 likes
And, hinting that a voluntary gag order will be implemented, Spicer said that “neither the White House nor the President will comment further until such oversight is conducted," Spicer added.
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Sean Spicer ✔@PressSec
(4/4) Neither the White House nor the President will comment further until such oversight is conducted.
10:51 AM - 5 Mar 2017
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To be sure, there was immediate pushback from the punditry:
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Benjy Sarlin ✔@BenjySarlin
With voter fraud and now wiretapping, there's a pattern going on:
1. Make unsubstantiated claim
2. Announce investigation to prove it
11:18 AM - 5 Mar 2017
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Jim Acosta ✔@Acosta
This WH statement issued five minutes before start of Sunday talk shows https://twitter.com/acosta/status/838396420533137408 …
11:34 AM - 5 Mar 2017
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In any case, while Democrats have accused Trump of fabricating his accusation that Obama bugged the president's phones to deflect from the media's full court press to suggest that Trump's aides had ties to Russia, it now appears that Trump is pushing back with demands of a similar probe, focusing on alleged "executive power violations" by Obama. While it is unclear how far either probe will go, the stakes have suddenly soared, escalating to the very top with either the current or the former president finding themselves with much to lose, if the other side's accusations are confirmed.
