Trump’s DOJ sends documents related to Wiretap Claim to House Panel

The Department of Justice (DOJ) sent documents to the House Intelligence Committee on Friday in response to a request for evidence backing up President Trump’s claim that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower.

The committee is currently reviewing the documents, an aide confirmed to The Hill. It’s unclear what’s in the documents, which CNN reported separately had also been delivered to the Senate Intelligence Committee, though that report could not be immediately confirmed.

Leaders on the House panel sent a letter to the DOJ last week asking for evidence related to Trump’s claim earlier this month that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower ahead of the presidential election. A spokesman for Obama denied at the time that he or any White House official ordered such surveillance.

On Monday, the DOJ asked for more time to produce the documents, bucking a March 13 deadline set by the committee. Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) indicated that the committee could subpoena the department for the documents if they were not received by Monday, when the panel holds a hearing.

Trump tweeted March 4 accusing Obama of having his “wires tapped” in Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. He has stood by his claim despite lawmakers in both parties saying as of Thursday that they had not seen evidence to support his allegation.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has sought to clarify the claim, saying that Trump put the wiretapping accusation “in quotes” and was more broadly referring to surveillance activities by the Obama administration.

But Spicer also said that Trump “stands by” his initial tweets on the subject, and Trump on Friday joked about the wiretapping claim during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The House Intelligence Committee will hold an open hearing on Russian interference in the election on Monday, where questions about Trump’s claims are sure to be raised. Lawmakers will have the opportunity to press FBI Director James Comey on the issue.

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