WASHINGTON_The White House Sunday called on Congress to investigate whether President Barack Obama abused his executive powers in connection with the 2016 campaign, but continued to offer no evidence to back up the claim.
The demand came as claims and counterclaims are made about Russian meddling in the presidential election. U.S. intelligence agencies have said such interference took place, and connections between the Trump camp and Russia are under investigation by the FBI.
Saturday on Twitter, President Donald Trump accused Obama of "wire tapping" his New York headquarters, Trump Tower. He offered no evidence to substantiate the claim, which an Obama spokesman called false.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer followed up Sunday with a statement citing "very troubling" reports of "politically motivated" investigations during the 2016 election campaign. He did not cite the source of the reports.
"President Donald J. Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused" before the the presidential election, Spicer said in the statement.
The former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, on NBC's "Meet the Press," said Sunday that he had no knowledge of any electronic surveillance at Trump Tower, which housed Trump's campaign headquarters and, after the election, his transition team.
If a warrant for such surveillance had been obtained by the FBI under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, "I would know that," Clapper said.
