The White House on Monday walked back a key point of Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated allegation that President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones in Trump Tower during the 2016 election. Namely, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump wasn’t referring to wiretapping when he tweeted about wiretapping. “I think there’s no question that the Obama administration, that there were actions about surveillance and other activities that occurred in the 2016 election,” Spicer said. “The Trump used the word wiretaps in quotes to mean, broadly, surveillance and other activities.” Wiretapping is a narrowly defined surveillance activity that involves tapping into “a telephone or telegram wire in order to get information,” according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. Spicer also said that Trump was referring to the Obama administration broadly – and not accusing Obama of personal involvement – when he tweeted that “Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower” and accused Obama of being a “bad” or “sick guy.” OMG CAN YOU SMELL THE BULLSHIT???? Source URL |
