House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday that President Trump must apologize for “disgraceful and incendiary” claims that former President Obama wiretapped him last year.
Pelosi said in a statement that FBI Director James Comey’s testimony earlier in the day “put the last nail into President Trump’s mendacious wiretapping claims.”
{mosads}”President Trump owes President Obama and the American people an apology for his disgraceful and incendiary fabrications,” Pelosi added.
Comey told a House panel the Department of Justice has “no information” supporting Trump’s unverified claim from earlier this month. The FBI director also confirmed the bureau is probing Russian attempts to meddle in the 2016 race, including any ties between Moscow and Trump campaign officials.
Pelosi added that Trump “has been desperate to distract attention from the FBI investigation into the Kremlin’s grip on his administration.”
“The possibility of Trump officials conspiring with a foreign adversary to influence a U.S. election represents a grave threat to our national security and our democracy, and the American people deserve answers,” Pelosi added.
“The Deflector-in-Chief’s desperation demands answers to our original question: what is Russia’s political, personal and financial grip on the Trump Administration?”
Comey on Monday refused to “characterize” Trump’s tweets from earlier this month accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower in New York City last year.
“As you know our practice is not to confirm the existence of an ongoing investigation,” he said during a House Intelligence Committee hearing.
“But in unusual circumstances where it is in the public interest, it may be appropriate to do so,” Comey added, noting the Justice Department had authorized him to break bureau policy and publicly disclose the probe.
“This is one of those circumstances. I can promise you we will follow the facts wherever they lead.”
The chairman and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee have previously said no evidence exists for Trump’s wiretapping claims.
Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and ranking member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) received Justice Department documents last Friday they say did not support Trump’s allegations.