Trump 'Stands by' Allegations of Wiretapping Conducted by Obama

President Donald Trump maintains his allegation of wiretapping by former President Barack Obama, White House spokesperson Sean Spicer said during a press briefing on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Spicer confirmed that Trump "stands by" his wiretapping allegations despite the statement by the US Senate Intelligence Committee that it found no evidence in support of the president’s claim.

North Carolina Senator Richard Burr, a Republican, and committee vice chairman Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat, jointly announced that "based on the information available," which would include the whole arsenal of the 17 US intelligence agencies and bureaus, "no indications" signaled that "Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance by any element of the United States government before or after Election Day 2016."

On Monday, the US Department of Justice had requested an extension to find evidence surrounding the claims that President Obama exploited executive authority in order to tamper with the Republican president's campaign.

Trump has expressed confidence in his bold claims via Press Secretary Sean Spicer's comments to the press as well as during TV interviews. Trump said the "wiretapping" had been placed in quotes in order to leave the possibility open that other surveillance tactics were used. Nonetheless, an independent investigation led by a member of the GOP, Burr, found the claims to be baseless and lacking factual substance.

Initially, Trump made his allegations public on March 4 on Twitter, calling "wiretapping" by the Obama administration a "new low" and returning to the era of McCarthyism.