Schumer: Trump must apologize for wiretapping claim

“President Trump owes the American people and President Obama more than just an explanation, but an apology. He should admit he was wrong, stop the outlandish Tweets, and get to work on behalf of this country,” Schumer said in a statement. 

The Senate’s top Democrat added that by repeating “unproven theories from the fringes … President Trump has severely damaged his credibility, which is essential to being president. He needs to retract his claim immediately.” 

Schumer’s comments come as Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee about the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including any possible ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow. 

{mosads}The FBI director declined to characterize Trump’s tweets, but told House lawmakers that he has “no information” that supports the president’s tweet that Obama wiretapped him during the campaign. 

Schumer said that Comey’s comments back up statements from top House and Senate lawmakers, who have noted that they have seen “no evidence” that the Trump campaign was wiretapped. 

“No matter what else happened, there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it — President Obama wiretapping Trump Tower did not happen,” the New York Democrat said. 

Comey’s appearance comes after Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a joint statement late last week that there were “no indications” that Trump Tower was wiretapped by the U.S. government before or after the election. 

Trump appeared to catch lawmakers off guard when he tweeted earlier this month that his predecessor “had my ‘wires tapped.'”

“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” he wrote.