Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is calling on President Trump to say if he still believes that the Obama administration wiretapped him after FBI Director James Comey said Monday there was “no information” to support the president’s claims.
“I don’t know if this changes the president’s view, but I think the next question to the president, in light of this, is do you still maintain those claims?” the South Carolina Republican told reporters.
He added that he hasn’t “found any information” tied to surveillance of the Trump campaign and that “it’s pretty clear to me that the people in charge… have no evidence of it.”
Comey declined to characterize the president’s tweets during an appearance before the House Intelligence Committee early Monday, but told lawmakers that “I have no information” that supports Trump’s claim.
Graham—one of the president’s most vocal GOP critics—added on Monday that the president should investigate before tweeting out claims without evidence.
“If you retweet it or you echo it, it’s going to get liked,” he told reporters. “So one of the lessons to be learned here is if you read something that… bothers you, before you tweet it out or echo it, check it out.”
{mosads}Top Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), immediately demanded that Trump walk back his wiretapping allegation in the wake of Comey’s comments.
“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.
Asked on Monday if the president would apologize, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer indicated that he wouldn’t.
“We started a hearing. It’s still ongoing. And then as Chairman Nunes mentioned, this is one in a series of hearings that will be happening,” he told reporters.
Trump accused his predecessor of wiretapping him during the campaign, tweeting earlier this month: “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!”
Top House and Senate lawmakers have indicated that they’ve seen no evidence to support Trump’s wiretapping claim.
The House and Senate Intelligence Committees are investigating Russia’s meddling in the White House race, including any potential contacts between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
Graham and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) are also using their Judiciary subcommittee to run a separate investigation, including asking for any documents tied to a request to legally wiretap the Trump campaign.
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