No evidence Barack Obama wiretapped Donald Trump: FBI chief

March 21, 2017

Washington, Mar 21: Two top US spymasters on Monday trashed President Donald Trump's allegation that his Trump Tower was wiretapped on the orders of his predecessor Barack Obama, saying there is no evidence to support the claim.

wiretapped

"With respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets, and we have looked carefully inside the FBI," FBI Director James Comey told the powerful House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Responding to a question from the members on Trump's allegation, Comey said the Justice Department had also looked for evidence to support Trump's allegation that his Trump Tower in New York - the headquarters of his presidential campaign - was wiretapped but could not find any.

"The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components, the department has no information that supports those tweets," Comey said, noting that no US president can unilaterally order a wiretap.

Admiral Michael Rogers, Director of the National Security Agency and Commander of US Cyber Command, also spoke on the same lines asserting he has seen no evidence of wiretapping as alleged by Trump through his tweets.

Trump has alleged that Obama had ordered wiretapping of the Trump Tower in the run up to the November 8 presidential election. His accusation had led to a huge uproar in the US and an Obama aide had to come forward to reject the charge.

Trump's allegation had also triggered a diplomatic row with Britain recently, as Trump and aides cited a discredited report by an American television network that Obama asked a British intelligence agency to tap him.

The British government had objected to the claim and the Trump administration had assured London that the White House will not use the allegations again.

Soon after Comey's Congressional hearing, Democrats demanded that Trump apologise to Obama.

"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," said Senate majority leader Charles Schumer.

"The FBI director has now confirmed what members from both parties in both the House and the Senate have said: 'President Obama did not order a wiretap on Trump Tower'. No matter what else happened, there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it - President Obama wiretapping Trump Tower did not happen," he said.

"By tweeting this claim and attempting to put unproven theories from the fringes of the American media into the mainstream, President Trump has severely damaged his credibility, which is essential to being president. He needs to retract his claim immediately," Schumer alleged.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 23,2020

Karachi, May 23: Ninety-seven people were killed and two survived when a passenger plane crashed into homes in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi, health officials said Saturday.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane had made multiple approaches to land at the city's airport when it came down in a residential area, damaging buildings and sparking a rescue operation that lasted into the night.

All passengers and crew had been accounted for and the bodies of those killed had been recovered from the crash site, the Sindh Health Ministry said, adding that 19 had been identified.

A local hospital earlier reported it had received the bodies of people killed on the ground.

The site remained cordoned off on Saturday morning.

The crash sent plumes of smoke were into the air as rescue workers and residents searched the debris for people and as firefighters tried to extinguish the flames.

An AFP reporter witnessed charred bodies being loaded into ambulances.

PIA said the plane lost contact with air traffic control just after 2:30 pm (0930 GMT) travelling from Lahore to Karachi.

The disaster comes as Pakistanis prepare to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, with many travelling back to their homes in cities and villages.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 16,2020

Islamabad, Apr 16: The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan topped 6000 while the death toll due to the virus has reached 117, Dawn reported citing official data on Wednesday.

Over 1,446 people have recovered in the country from the deadly virus that has killed over 1.3 lakh people worldwide.

The total number of cases in the country has reached 6297 with Punjab being the worst affected province with 3,016 cases. Meanwhile, Sindh has 1,688 cases of the deadly virus.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 47 new cases of the coronavirus, taking the provincial total to 912. Most of the new cases are of Tableeghi Jamaat members who have travel history.

Balochistan has reported four new cases of COVID-19, taking the provincial total to 281 according to provincial government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown with relaxation to some sectors.

Addressing the media in Islamabad on Tuesday, Khan said, "We made the hard decision of imposing lockdown in the country which was very well implemented due to cooperation of the people."

The countrywide lockdown was imposed last month in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus. Later, a two-week extension was announced in the restrictions until April 14.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 1,2020

New Delhi, Jun 1: Actor Kendrick Sampson, who stars in HBO series Insecure, was struck by rubber bullets as Los Angeles police officers tried to disperse a crowd protesting George Floyd”s death in Minneapolis.

Floyd, a black man, died last Monday in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck for more than eight minutes. The officer was arrested on Friday and charged with third-degree murder.

The actor went live via Instagram on Saturday to show his view of events, but he could be also be seen on a CNN broadcast simultaneously, with viewers watching him get hit by a police baton on TV.

Sampson posted several videos on his page of a large demonstration at Pan Pacific Park near the city”s Fairfax District, where violent clashes took place throughout the day outside the Grove shopping center.

In one video, LAPD officers can be seen firing rubber bullets to try and regain control at the park.

“They shot me four times already. I already got hurt and I got hit with a baton,” Sampson said in the video on Instagram.

Another clip showed him moving away from the police, as he appeared to be hit by an officer”s baton.

“Y”all ain”t see no police f*****g up white folks when they took guns to the statehouse,” he said, referring to an incident in Michigan over coronavirus restrictions, not in California. “Y”all didn”t see police attacking white folks, beating em up with batons, shooting them with rubber bullets when they brought guns to f*****g state houses. We came up here with no weapons, with masks.… And we”re the ones who are not peaceful,” Sampson alleged.

Protests turned violent over Floyd”s death and other police killings of black people spread Saturday in dozens of US cities, with police cars set ablaze, reports of injuries mounting on all sides, shops and showrooms vandalised amid the lockdown.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.