Chuck Schumer says Trump's wiretapping tweets show 'the president is in trouble'

Chuck Schumer says President Trump &quot;is in trouble:

(Image credit: NBC News)

published 6 March 2017

Most Republican lawmakers have been mum or openly skeptical of President Trump's claim, tweeted on Saturday, that former President Barack Obama ordered his Trump Tower phones wiretapped during the presidential campaign. On Saturday, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) demanded that Trump reveal his sources, rumored to be a Breitbart News article based on a right-wing talk radio theory, arguing that Trump's accusations have put America "in the midst of a civilization-warping crisis of public trust."

On Sunday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he has seen "no evidence" to support Trump's wiretapping claim, adding, "The president put that out there, and now the White House will have to answer as to exactly what he was referring to." Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), like Rubio a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said rather than Trump tweeting, "it would be more helpful if he turned over to the intelligence committee any evidence that he has." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), like other Democrats on the Sunday shows, was only slightly more blunt, stating that "the president is in trouble," and he "makes it worse with these tweets."

If Trump "falsely spread this kind of misinformation, that is so wrong — it's beneath the dignity of the presidency," Schumer said on NBC's Meet the Press. "If it's true, it's even worse for the president. Because that means that a federal judge, independently elected, has found probable cause that the president, or people on his staff... have probable cause to have broken the law or to have interacted with a foreign agent." You can watch Schumer's entire interview below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.