CNN's Jake Tapper tore into President Trump on Friday after Trump defended his administration's wiretapping claims at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Though Trump himself tweeted the baseless claim that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower during the presidential election — and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer then rehashed the unfounded claims that British spy agency GCHQ was involved — Trump on Friday blamed Fox News for spreading the allegations. "We said nothing. All we did was quote a very talented legal mind," Trump said, referring to former judge Andrew Napolitano, who suggested on Fox News that Obama "used" GCHQ to get intelligence on Trump.
"In a fevered effort to try to force this outlandish claim into something remotely resembling — passably, perhaps, maybe — the truth, the White House appears actually willing to repeat another wild accusation that potentially could alienate our nation's most important ally," Tapper said, referring to Britain. A GCHQ spokesperson on Friday said the allegation repeated by Spicer is "utterly ridiculous."
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.
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfullySpeed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records requestSpeed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by TrumpSpeed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank planSpeed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutionalSpeed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for riflesSpeed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBISpeed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summitSpeed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
