James Comey refutes Donald Trump's claim that he was wiretapped by Barack Obama

The FBI director wasn't ambiguous about slamming Trump's major claim

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published March 20, 2017 5:45PM (EDT)

 (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

In a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump, FBI Director James Comey flatly denied the president's claim from earlier this month that Trump Tower had been wiretapped by his predecessor, President Barack Obama.

Comey told Congress in his testimony that "we have no information to support those tweets. All I can tell you is that we have no information that supports them," according to The New York Times.

His sentiments were echoed by Admiral Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency.

"I’ve seen nothing on the NSA side that we engaged in such activity, nor that anyone engaged in such activity," said Rogers.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer harshly criticized President Trump after Comey's statement.

"President Trump owes the American people and President Obama more than just an explanation, but an apology. He should admit he was wrong, stop the outlandish tweets, and get to work on behalf of this country," Schumer said.

Earlier this month, it was leaked that Comey was so angry at Trump's claim that Trump Tower had been wiretapped that the FBI director personally asked the Department of Justice to jointly dispute Trump's claim with him. The Department of Justice declined to do so.


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

MORE FROM Matthew Rozsa


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

2016 Elections Donald Trump Fbi James Comey Russia