Michael Mukasey, former Attorney General for George W. Bush, says that President Trump is probably right – that he was wiretapped during the 2016 election – though he stopped short of saying Barack Obama was personally responsible.
Over the weekend, news of possible wiretapping of Trump Tower came to light as the President himself made the revelations on social media.
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
Is it legal for a sitting President to be “wire tapping” a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
A spokesman for Obama released a statement that had more tap dancing in it than a Fred Astaire musical. It specifically drew a line between the former President and ‘White House officials’ and the Justice Department, essentially saying the DOJ was left to their own devices.
Mukasey seems to think this is a plausible scenario – that the Justice Department targeted Trump and/or Trump associates for wiretapping.
Via The Hill:
Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Sunday said that President Trump is likely correct that there was surveillance on Trump Tower for intelligence purposes, but incorrect in accusing former President Barack Obama of ordering the wiretapping.
“I think he’s right in that there was surveillance and that it was conducted at the behest of the attorney general — at the Justice Department,” Mukasey told ABC’s “This Week.”
Trump on Saturday accused Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower in New York City just before the November election.
While suggesting Trump is correct in his allegations, Mukasey also offers up a bit of naiveté in thinking President Obama would have no knowledge of what Attorney General Loretta Lynch may have done.
What we know, according to reports, is that in June of 2016 the administration filed a request with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) to monitor communications involving Donald Trump and several advisers. It should be noted that this initial request was made at about the same time Lynch held a private meeting with Bill Clinton on the tarmac of a Phoenix airport.
The request was declined.
In October, a new request was submitted, written far more narrowly, and granted according to Heat Street “after evidence was presented of a server, possibly related to the Trump campaign, and its alleged links to two banks; [sic] SVB Bank and Russia’s Alfa Bank.”
No evidence was ultimately found, but the Justice Department pursued it as a national security investigation. Thus, the wiretapping of Trump Tower continued, according to these reports.
The statement from Obama that neither he, nor any White House officials “interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice” could technically be true, but it leaves the door wide open to being nothing more than laying the groundwork for plausible deniability.
Meanwhile, radio host Mark Levin, who set the wheels in motion for these wiretapping allegations, claims “the evidence is overwhelming” that the Obama administration spied on a candidate for President.
A thorough Congressional investigation must be held and held immediately in response to Trump’s accusations. America must know the truth.
Comment: Do you think Obama wiretapped President Trump and his associates? Share your thoughts below.
