Before asking Congress to substantiate his wiretapping claims, Trump reportedly mulled hiring a P.I.


When President Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning and accused his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, of ordering a wiretap of his Trump Tower phones during the presidential campaign — which would almost certainly be against the law — his White House staff was among the most surprised, according to multiple reports. Over the weekend, after "a succession of frantic staff conference calls, including one consultation with the White House counsel," The New York Times reported Tuesday evening, aides "decided the only real solution to the presidential Twitter posts was to kick the allegations to Congress."
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tried to explain the decision to ask Congress to investigate something Trump had already stated as fact, arguing there was a "separation of powers aspect" to the request and suggesting it would be improper for the White House to order the Justice Department to look into Trump's explosive accusation, especially when Trump can ask Congress "as a separate body to look into something and add credibility to the look."
The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza translates that: "This isn't about a separation of powers — as Spicer claimed Tuesday — or anything else. It's about Trump tweeting first and thinking second. And a White House scrambling to make lemonade — or at least lemon water — from lemons." Trump was originally pleased with his tweets on Saturday, The New York Times reports:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But by midafternoon, after returning from golf, he appeared to realize he had gone too far, although he still believed Mr. Obama had wiretapped him, according to two people in Mr. Trump's orbit. He sounded defiant in conversations at Mar-a-Lago with his friend Christopher Ruddy, the chief executive of Newsmax Media, Mr. Ruddy said. In other conversations that afternoon, the president sounded uncertain of the procedure for obtaining a warrant for secret wiretaps on an American citizen. Mr. Trump also canvassed some aides and associates about whether an investigator, even one outside the government, could substantiate his charge. [The New York Times]
Trump's aides have seen this pattern before, the Times noted, mentioning Trump's spirited embrace of a National Enquirer conspiracy theory about Sen. Ted Cruz's father helping assassinate JFK. In a hopeful sign for Trump, perhaps, Cruz and his wife, Heidi, are dining with him at the White House on Wednesday.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Why Turkey's Kurdish insurgents are laying down their arms
Under the Radar The PKK said its aims can now be 'resolved through democratic politics'
-
Book reviews: 'Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves' and 'Notes to John'
Feature The aughts' toxic pop culture and Joan Didion's most private pages
-
The FDA plans to embrace AI agencywide
In the Spotlight Rumors are swirling about a bespoke AI chatbot being developed for the FDA by OpenAI
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members