Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP/Press Association Images
Wires Crossed
Trump says 'bad (or sick) guy' Obama tapped his phone
Obama says he didn’t.
US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has accused his predecessor Barack Obama of tapping his phone during last year’s election.
The President offered no evidence of his claim, which he called “a new low”.
Taking to Twitter early this morning on the US east coast, Trump fired a barrage of tweets aimed at the 44th President of the US.
Trump did not say how he had found out about the wiretapping and an Obama spokesperson hit back, saying the President was wrong.
“President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any US citizen,” Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis said in a statement.
Last night before heading to his “Winter White House” in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump accused his opponents of conducting “a total witch hunt” into links with Moscow, which he denies.
The angry accusation came as Attorney General Jeff Sessions — a close Trump confidant and the US government’s top law enforcement official — was forced to recuse himself from any Russia-related inquiries.
After Sessions told senators under oath that “I didn’t have — did not have communications with the Russians,” journalists uncovered he had actually met the Russian ambassador twice in the months before taking office.
The meetings have raised red flags for Democrats, who have called for Sessions to resign and be investigated for perjury.
Trump said he had “total” confidence in Sessions, who “could have stated his response more accurately” but “did not say anything wrong.”
Trump lashed out at leading Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer.
Trump tweeted an old picture of the senator with Russian President Vladimir Putin along with the caption: “We should start an immediate investigation into @SenSchumer and his ties to Russia and Putin. A total hypocrite!”
With AFP reporting
Read: Poll shows Coveney the favourite over Varadkar among Fine Gael voters
Read: Man in his 40s killed in motorcycle crash this morning
