Earlier this month, the Twitterverse exploded when President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of ordering an illegal wiretap to be planted in Trump’s personal residence in Trump Tower during his 2016 campaign. Since then, Washington has been in an uproar demanding justice for Obama and not just from members of his own party.
If the allegations were true, it would mean that the FBI or any federal agency that had carried out the supposed orders of the former Commander-In-Chief would also be guilty of a number of federal crimes. If they are false, it is a reprehensible allegation to make with the only intent being to tarnish what appears to be one of the most sterling administrations in recent US history.
Both Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska has spoken out against Trump’s allegations as well as Republican Senator John McCain (who is also chairman of the Armed Services Committee.) McCain has even gone so far as to implore Trump to either retract his statement or provide the information that the American people deserve – legitimate evidence to substantiate his outrageous claims.
Repeated denials of the charges have been made by both members of the former Obama Administration as well as high level officials in the Justice Department. Current Administration members have thus far been unable to produce a single piece of evidence to back up the sitting President’s tweeted accusations. With only a few months in office under his belt, President Donald Trump seems to continue to cause chaos and controversy with his ongoing love of spitting out diatribe in 140 characters or less.
Meanwhile, in Washington, tempers continue to run hot over President Trump’s ongoing blatant disregard for either political correctness or even just basic circumspection. In a recent editorial from the respected political news journal The Hill, a call to action was issued for all patriotic Americans – regardless of party affiliation – to apply pressure to the Senate Intelligence Committee to demand that President Trump issue sworn testimony before them offering evidence of his allegations. The editorial also stated that if evidence could not be provided to back up the ludicrous claim, that a very public apology should be due former President Barack Obama.
Given the nature of President Trump’s tenure thus far, it seem doubtful that either legal action or an apology will be forthcoming. In a recent press briefing, however, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that President Trump used the word “wiretap” in quotes, which meant that he didn’t really think that the President went and tapped his phones personally, nor had the FBI do it, but rather that Trump simply felt that surveillance and other more broad activities had been pursued.
So while neither an apology nor an investigation may be forthcoming, it seems that the situation will be dealt with the same way the Trump Administration has thus far dealt with any number of scandals and dropped balls – with a lot of tap-dancing and back-pedaling. Which seems to be more and more often par for the course for the current Administration.
A hearing on the matter has been scheduled for March 20, and a spokesman for the House Intelligence Committee – controlled by the President’s own party – has asked for the Justice Department to provide any evidence supporting the President’s wiretapping claims prior to that date. He also warned that the Committee could resort to making this a “compulsory process” if it doesn’t get the answers it is seeking. The Justice Department has apparently asked for more time to determine if any such documents exist.