Trump's White House hasn't turned over information about the president's wiretapping claims

The Department of Justice didn't deliver evidence subpoenaed by Congress, and lawmakers aren't pleased about it

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published March 14, 2017 2:31PM (EDT)

Trump Tower in New York (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Trump Tower in New York (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

President Donald Trump's pursuit of his unfounded claim that Trump Tower was wiretapped by his predecessor is facing another roadblock, as the Justice Department has asked for an extension on the House Intelligence Committee's initial deadline of Monday.

"The Department of Justice has asked for more time to comply with the House Intelligence Committee's request for information related to possible surveillance of Donald Trump or his associates during the election campaign," Jack Langer, a spokesman for House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said in a statement. "We have asked the department to provide us this information before the committee's open hearing scheduled for March 20. If the committee does not receive a response by then, the committee will ask for this information during the March 20 hearing and may resort to a compulsory process if our questions continue to go unanswered."

In similar news, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters on Monday that he was upset that the Justice Department has yet to respond to a request for any relevant warrant applications and court orders from himself and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who both serve on the Judiciary Committee.

"I'm getting very ill-tempered over this," Graham told reporters. "I expect them to take some time, but Judiciary has control over the FBI — oversight. So I have said, OK, let's keep the committee process in place, regular order, so if the FBI runs over to the Intel committee and they testify there, and they don't respond to my letter, I think that's a mistake, because the FBI is under our jurisdiction."
Graham also warned James Comey, the FBI director, that if his committee doesn't receive a reply, "you'll run afoul of the Judiciary Committee. If I were you, I wouldn't do that. Director Comey, trying to give you a little advice here."

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.

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David Nunes Donald Trump Richard Burr Trump Tower Wiretapping