A classified report from the US Justice Department reportedly does not confirm President Donald Trump's accusations that President Barack Obama ordered a spying operation against him during the 2016 election, CNN reported, citing two government officials familiar with the DOJ document.
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The US Justice Department may be close to throwing cold water on Trump's wiretapping claims
"There's really no question about this. The president's statements before, and his tweets since leading right up today, have no basis in fact," one lawmaker familiar with the report said.
Donald Trump.
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California and House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes, a Republican, both indicated to CNN on Friday that they do not believe the DOJ's report backs up Trump's wiretapping allegations.
"There's really no question about this. The president's statements before, and his tweets since leading right up today, have no basis in fact," Schiff said. The bipartisan committee issued a statement earlier this week to that effect, saying it sees "no indications" that Trump was wiretapped.
Leaders from the House and Senate Intelligence Committees asked the Justice Department for evidence after Trump called for a congressional inquiry into his as-yet-unproven wiretapping claims. On Monday, the DOJ asked for more time to compile its report, and it was given until March 20 to deliver it — the same day of a scheduled hearing on the matter.
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Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement to CNN that the department "has complied with the request from leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and Judiciary Committees seeking information related to surveillance during the 2016 election." Flores did not comment on the contents of the report.
Trump's unfounded wiretapping allegations have taken a number of turns in the two weeks since the president made the explosive charge.
Multiple US officials, the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, Britain's Global Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), and current and former Obama associates have denied all of the Trump administration's claims that Obama directed a spy operation at Trump. But the White House has persisted.
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