Administration

Poll: Most Republicans believe Trump’s wiretap claim

Nearly three-quarters of Republicans believe President Trump’s claim that former President Obama wiretapped him last year, a new poll shows.

Seventy-four percent of Republican respondents said it is “very” or “somewhat” likely Obama wiretapped Trump Tower in 2016, according to a CBS News poll released Wednesday.

Just 24 percent said Trump’s claim, which he’s produced no proof of, is “not very likely” or “not at all likely.”

{mosads}Trump claimed earlier this month on Twitter that Obama had his “wires tapped” at Trump Tower in New York City last year.

FBI Director James Comey said last week the Department of Justice has “no information” validating Trump’s accusation.

Trump has stood by the allegations, while the White House has said the comment refers to the Obama administration’s surveillance activities more broadly.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) revealed last week that a source told him the U.S. intelligence community incidentally surveilled Trump’s transition team before the president took office.

Nunes revealed the information to Trump but has said he will not share the evidence with fellow members of the Intelligence Committee. His moves have sparked questions as to whether his panel can impartially probe Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election, with many Democrats and at least one GOP lawmaker calling for Nunes to recuse himself.

CBS News conducted its poll of 1,088 adults nationwide, including 270 Republicans, via cellphone and landline telephone interviews from March 25 to 28. It has a 4 percentage point margin of error.