White House, still offering no evidence, demands probe of whether Obama abused executive power

The White House on Sunday called on Congress to investigate whether former President Obama abused his executive powers in connection with the 2016 campaign, but continued to offer no evidence to back up the claim.

The demand came amid a swirl of claims and counter-claims about Russian meddling in the presidential election. U.S. intelligence agencies have said such interference took place, and connections between the Trump camp and Russia are under investigation by the FBI.

Saturday on Twitter, President Trump accused Obama of “wire tapping” his New York headquarters, Trump Tower. He offered no evidence to substantiate the claim, which an Obama spokesman labeled false.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer followed up Sunday with a statement citing “very troubling” reports of “politically motivated” investigations during the 2016 election campaign. He did not cite the source of the reports.

“President Donald J. Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused” in advance of the presidential election, Spicer said in the statement.

The former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, interviewed Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said he had no knowledge of any electronic surveillance having taken place at Trump Tower, which served as Trump’s headquarters during the 2016 campaign and transition to power after his election.

If a warrant for such surveillance had been obtained by the FBI under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, “I would know that,” Clapper said.

Clapper also said a report by the overall U.S. intelligence community did not contain any proof that the Trump camp had worked in concert with the Russians in order to tip the election to him.