The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that President Trump was “wrong” in claiming earlier this month that President Obama ordered wiretaps on Trump Tower.
“President Obama wouldn’t physically go over and wiretap Trump Tower, so now you have to decide … are you going to take the tweets literally, and if you are, then clearly the president was wrong,” California Rep. Devin Nunes told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Trump caused a stir earlier this month when he claimed on Twitter that he had just learned that Obama tapped the phones in Trump Tower. It is believed he based the claim on analysis from conservative radio host Mark Levin.
Though Levin’s analysis misses key details about what’s been reported about the surveillance used in the investigations into Russian meddling in the election, the White House has insisted that evidence supports Trump’s claim that Obama directed politically-motivated surveillance against the Republican’s campaign.
Nunes’ committee is investigating Trump’s claims as well as other issues related to Russia’s interference in the election.
The FBI is reportedly investigating whether any Trump associates colluded with the Kremlin to influence the election. Some news outlets have reported that the FBI has picked up conversations between Trump associates and Russian operatives. Many of the reports have stated that investigators have yet to find any evidence of collusion.
It is unclear how the phone calls were intercepted, though Trump implied in his tweet that they were picked up by wiretaps of Trump Tower or of campaign members.
An alternative explanation is that any correspondence was scooped up by U.S. intelligence agents listening in on Russian operatives’ phone calls. The Trump advisers who have been identified in news reports as corresponding with Russian officials have all denied knowingly communicating with Kremlin operatives.
Nunes said Wednesday that Trump’s tweets would be more accurate if read as a general statement about the Obama administration’s investigation rather than a literal claim about Obama’s actions.
“But if you’re not going to take the tweets literally and if there’s a concern that the president has about other people, other surveillance activities, looking at him or his associates, either appropriately or inappropriately, we want to find that out. I think it’s all in the interpretation of what you believe,” he said.
Rep. Nunes: If you’re going to take Trump’s tweets literally on wiretapping, then “clearly the President was wrong” https://t.co/aVdo8qR3vS
— CNN (@CNN) March 15, 2017