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:
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.
-
Which way will Trump go on Iran?Today’s Big Question Diplomatic talks set to be held in Turkey on Friday, but failure to reach an agreement could have ‘terrible’ global ramifications
-
High Court action over Cape Verde tourist deathsThe Explainer Holidaymakers sue TUI after gastric illness outbreaks linked to six British deaths
-
The battle over the Irish language in Northern IrelandUnder the Radar Popularity is soaring across Northern Ireland, but dual-language sign policies agitate division as unionists accuse nationalists of cultural erosion
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
