Sessions: I didn’t give Trump reason to think he was wiretapped

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Wednesday said he never gave President Trump a reason to believe that his campaign was wiretapped.

“Well look, my answer is no,” Sessions said at a news conference when asked if he had ever led Trump to believe he was being surveilled by the Obama administration. He refused to comment on the matter further, noting he has recused himself from any case regarding Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Sessions earlier this month declared he would not participate in any federal investigations of Russian election meddling or Trump’s ties to Russia after it was revealed that he failed to disclose two meetings with Russia’s ambassador while he was a campaign surrogate for the real estate mogul.

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Trump stirred controversy earlier this month after claiming without evidence that former President Barack Obama ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower during his presidential bid, calling it McCarthyism and comparing it to President Richard Nixon’s role in Watergate.

The Trump administration has routinely been asked since then to provide evidence for the salacious claim. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday the president is “extremely confident” that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will produce evidence that Obama wiretapped him last year. 

FBI Director James Comey urged the DOJ to denounce Trump’s claim as false shortly after he made it, according to reports, but the agency has so far stood by the president.

The Trump administration on Monday requested more time to comply with a House Intelligence Committee request for evidence substantiating Trump’s claim. 

And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned the Senate would stall confirmation of the deputy attorney general nominee if the FBI refuses to provide evidence related to any possible Trump surveillance.