'No evidence' Trump was wiretapped

Trump's claim that he was wiretapped by Obama is under increasing assault after a congressional committee said it had seen no evidence to support the allegation

House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (Republican, California), right, accompanied by the committee's ranking member, Adam Schiff (Democrat, California), talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, March, 15, 2017, about their investigation of Russian influence on the American presidential election. Both said they have no evidence to back President Trump's claim that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Plaza during the 2016 campaign. Picture: AP Photo

DONALD Trump's claim he was wiretapped by Barack Obama has come under increasing assault after a congressional committee said it had seen no evidence to support the allegation and it did not believe it had happened.

The White House had asked Congress to investigate the claim, and the two committees that agreed to do so asked the Department of Justice for information to support the accusation.

Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes said he did not believe Mr Trump's phones had been tapped.

"We don't have any evidence that it took place,” he said. "Having spoken to people just in the last week, I don't believe there was an actual tap of Trump Tower.”

Democrat Congressman Adam Schiff said: "It deeply concerns me that the President would make such an accusation without basis.”

Mr Nunes said he remained concerned about two issues - whether there had been electronic tapping of Americans and whether anyone had been "unmasked' by the intelligence services.

He said there was evidence of crimes in the release of communications between former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador to the US.

"For a long time here I have been very clear about my concern about, number one, the incidental collection on General Flynn, how that was put into a product, how it was unmasked, how it was leaked to the public,” Mr Nunes said. - INM

Originally published as 'No evidence' Trump was wiretapped