The Justice Department asked House intelligence leaders for more time to provide evidence to support President Donald Trump’s claim that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the election.
The House Intelligence Committee initially gave a deadline of Monday for the DOJ to comply with their request, but said it would grant a one week extension to March 20, the date of the committee’s first open hearing on the investigation into Russia’s influence peddling during the 2016 election.
Our House Intel Comte gave administration until hoy to give evidence of Trump Tower wiretap. They asked for extension. I’m awaiting evidence
— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@RosLehtinen) March 14, 2017
“If the committee does not receive a response by then, the committee will ask for this information during the March 20 hearing and may resort to a compulsory process if our questions continue to go unanswered,” Jack Langer, a spokesman for Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, told the Associated Press.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday attempted to explain Trump’s wiretapping assertion saying, “The president used the word wiretap in quotes to mean broadly surveillance and other activities.”
The administration has been under pressure to produce evidence by other Republicans in Congress, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Arizona Sen. John McCain.
“I think the president has one of two choices: either retract or to provide the information that the American people deserve,” McCain said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.