GOP rep. on wiretap accusation: Trump ‘overshot the mark’

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) says President Trump should have never accused former President Barack Obama of wiretapping him last year.

“He should not have done it,” he told host Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “The Situation Room” Monday evening. “I said that almost from day one.”

King added Trump “overshot the mark” in responding to real leaks from Obama-era officials within the federal government.

{mosads}“I think there are people in the government or formerly in the government who leaked out [information] against the law, committing felonies, in an attempt to hurt Donald Trump,” he said.

“[There are] people in there who are leaking out very, very classified top secret information, most of which was false in the way it was leaked out. That, I think, is what the president was overreacting to. It was an overreaction to very legitimate complaints.”

FBI Director James Comey said earlier Monday the Department of Justice has “no information” supporting Trump’s allegations.

Comey also refused to “characterize” Trump’s tweets earlier this month first accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower in New York City in 2016.

The chairman and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee have previously said there is no evidence substantiating Trump’s claims.

Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Rep Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) received DOJ documents last Friday they say did not support the allegations.

Trump has stood by his controversial remarks, while the White House says they refer to Obama administration surveillance more broadly.

Nunes said Monday that he could not rule out other spying methods targeting Trump last year, following Comey’s appearance before his panel.

“We know there was not a wiretap on Trump Tower,” he said in an opening statement before Monday’s hearing. “However, it’s still possible that other surveillance activities were used against President Trump and his associates.”