Trump’s own staff has no idea what Donald Trump is talking about
Reporter, Think Progress
President Donald Trump’s baseless Twitter proclamation that his phones were tapped before the election by the Obama administration has drawn reaction from both sides of the aisle on Saturday, including from President Obama’s spokesman.
A number of Democrats responded to Trump on Twitter, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who repeated a call for an independent investigation into the administration’s ties to Russia.
Several other Democratic lawmakers criticized Trump’s tweet with notable reactions coming from Ben Rhodes, a former adviser to Obama, former Vermont Gov. and DNC Chairman Howard Dean, and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). Rhodes pointed out that a president cannot order a wiretap, while Dean and Lieu suggested Trump’s accusations mean a federal judge found probable cause to monitor the Trump campaign’s communications.
The sentiment was also expressed by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
On the Republican side, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) said he was “very worried” about Trump’s claim.
IF law enforcement sought 2 surveil, FISA court found sufficient evidence of likely criminality related 2 a foreign power 2 grant warrant. https://t.co/J2doKz2wgG
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 4, 2017
On the Republican side, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) said he was “very worried” about Trump’s claim.
“I’m very worried that our president is suggesting the former president has done something illegal,” Graham said at a town hall in Clemson, S.C., according to the Hill.
“I’d be very worried if in fact the Obama administration was able to obtain a warrant lawfully about Trump campaign activity with foreign governments. It’s my job as United States senator to get to the bottom of this.”
Former and current intelligence officials also spoke to the press about Trump’s proclamations, and were uniformly dumbfounded by the accusation. One former official told CNN Trump’s claims were outright false.
Breaking; "This did not happen. It is false. Wrong" a former US Official with direct knowledge tells CNN of Trump claim https://t.co/mcCWHgCieH
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) March 4, 2017
Current officials say Trump didn’t consult staff before tweeting this morning, and have no clue what the President of the United States is talking about.
Sr US official in a position to know tells NBC that he & others have NO idea what Trump was talking about in tweets this morning about Obama
— Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) March 4, 2017
Pete Williams reports: Senior official in position to know is unsure what Trump is talking about, apparently did not consult with gov before
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) March 4, 2017
Meanwhile, Trump is golfing.
