President Donald Trump unleashed a Twitter Storm today regarding wiretaps on Trump Tower authorized by the Obama Administration during the 2016 election.
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
Although it may be true that Trump “just found out” about the wiretaps, this is old news. On November 7, 2016, Louise Mensch broke the story that the FBI sought and was granted a Foreign Intelligence Surveillant Act (FISA) warrant in October 2016. The warrant gave counter-intelligence permission to look into Trump and his campaign officials to find out if there were ties to Russia. The warrant was granted due to evidence of a Trump Tower private server that was in communication with Russia’s Alfa Bank.
The Warrant Specifically Covers Any “US Persons”
The warrant specifically covers any “US Persons” connected to the investigation. The fact that the courts granted a FISA warrant with Trump in its scope is significant. In order to obtain a FISA warrant, the government must show probable cause that the “target of the surveillance is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power.” In other words, the government believed Trump could be a Russian agent.
The Wire Tap Was Not Illegal
Trump claimed on Twitter that the court turned down the warrant. This is a misleading statement. The court did turn down an earlier request for a warrant but later granted it based on new evidence.
Is it legal for a sitting President to be "wire tapping" a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
Trump tweeted that a good lawyer could “make a case” against President Obama for authorizing the wiretap.
I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
Trump is mistaken. The warrant was granted and therefore the wiretap was legal.
SIGINT collection authorized per FISA is hardly illegal wiretapping. If POTUS has evidence of different, he needs to show it — or shut up.
— John Schindler (@20committee) March 4, 2017
Trump’s White House Supports FISA
Ironically, Reuters reported just last week that Trump’s White House supports FISA “without reforms.” A White House official told Reuters that FISA is necessary “to protect the security of the nation.”
Thanks, Trump! You reminded us that the government was investigating you for espionage.
Featured image from Gage Skidmore on Flickr available under a CC BY-SA 2.0.
