President Trump Has Ignited Yet Another Media Storm, This Time Accusing President Obama of Wiretapping Him

Once again the media is in a tizzy over a “supposed outrageous claim” Saturday by President Trump- this time a tweet claim that President Obama may have ordered a wiretap of his campaign. He tweeted: “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” Most media reports are outraged that he made this claim without any proof. Denials reverberated among the media and network news. And yet, we need to remember the ringing lyrics of Buffalo Springfield: “There’s something happening here What it is ain’t exactly clear.” Here’s the problem. At least two of President Trump’s private phone conversations to the Prime Minister of Australia and the President of Mexico have been leaked, complete with transcripts. A separate phone call by General Flynn, while still a private citizen, to Russia Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, intercepted by the FBI in 2016, was leaked in February 2017, costing the general his position as the National Security Advisor to the President. The New York Times on January 10, 2017 reported that the FBI, CIA, NSA and the Department of the Treasury had been monitoring Trump associates suspected of Russian ties. Wiretaps showed no connection between the Trump Campaign and the Russians. The Obama Administration last June petitioned the FISA Court for permission to wiretap the Trump and his advisors. It was rejected. They again petitioned in November, this time not naming Trump. It was granted. Denials of come from a variety of sources. Obama spokespersons are indignant, denying everything. Josh Ernest, outgoing Press Secretary of President Obama, said no President “has the authority to unilaterally order the wiretapping of an American citizen ….” You need the FISA Court to issue an order. Ben Rhodes, not a font of veracity in the Obama Administration, got the same talking point: “No President can order a wiretap. Those restrictions were put in place to protect citizens from persons like you (Trump).” Both are technically correct, but plain wrong. The statute provides: “The President through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order ….” If the Attorney General makes specific certifications. Ben Rhodes was instrumental in obtaining Congressional approval of the Iran Agreement. He afterwards said in a New York Times magazine article: “The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns …. They literally know nothing.” The story he created for them, the lie, was that the change in Iranian regimes meant the U.S. was now dealing with the moderates who will be in a position to improve the lives of the Iranian people. The reporters swallow the spin, hook, line, and sinker. The agreement is approved and over $1 trillion in cash is sent to the mullahs to persue their military and terrorist ambitions. Kevin Lewis, another former Obama Spokesman two days ago said [N]either President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance of any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.” In 2013 the Justice Department tapped the phone and emails of Fox News correspondent James Rosen in a leaks investigation. The Justice Department in seeking the warrant labeled Rosen a “criminal co-conspirator” and called him a “flight risk.” They also got the records of his parents. Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the House Judiciary Committee that he had recused himself from the investigations. As was later discovered, the Attorney General had signed off on the Rosen File. His Justice Department also subpoenaed the records of 20 Associated Press reporters. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the Queen of Irony, say of Trump: “You make up something. Then you have the press write about it. And then you say, everybody is writing about this charge. It’s a tool of authoritarianism.” Embattled FBI Director James Comey Immediately called upon the Justice Department to repudiate the Trump Statement, yet another error in Judgment by the FBI Director. James Clapper, the former Director of National Security, who blatantly lied to Congress on March 12, 2013, said “There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time, as a candidate, or against his campaign.” He added he would have known if a FISA request to wiretap Donald Trump had been granted to the FBI, and none was. He said “Absolutely, I can deny it.” Of course, the tap does not have to be directed at President Trump, but at his associates, in which case he would be opportunistic “collateral damage” Senator Ron Wyden asked Clapper in 2013 “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?” Director Clapper responded: “No, sir. Not wittingly. There are cases where they could inadvertently perhaps collapse, but not wittingly.” A history of misrepresentations, prevarications, and outright lying characterized the 8 years of the Obama Administration. President Obama July 21, 2015 denied on John Stewart’s Daily Show, the epitome of fake news, the IRS had discriminated against conservatives, especially the Tea Party, from 2010 through the 2012 Election. He blamed Congress for “passing a crummy law.” He earlier feigned “outrage” at the IRS’ actions. President Obama uttered yet another major misrepresentation on Augus8 8, 2013 on Jay Leno “We don’t have a domestic spying program.” The Snowden Wikileaks proved the contrary. Remember these phrases: “Shovel ready jobs” “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” “If you like your insurer, you can keep your insurer” Attorney General Lynch and her Justice Department petitioned the FISA Court in June 2016 for permission to tap Donald Trump’s phones, ostensibly because of a suspected link between the Trump Campaign and the alleged Russian interference in the election. The Court’s response was one of the few times it has denied a request. They returned in October, seeking permission to monitor a computer in Trump Tower. The allegation was that the sever was linked to a Russian bank. No evidence was found, but significantly the tap continued for “national security” reasons. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton lied to the American people on Benghazi. Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress for stonewalling on Operation Fast and Furious by ATF. There’s enough here for a Watergate, but the publishers of the Washington Post, which made its bones on Watergate, and the New York Times are interested in bringing down President Trump rather than their hero, President Obama. “There’s something happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear.”