Donald Trump ‘was not referring to wiretapping when tweeting about wiretapping’

Donald Trump’s press secretary has insisted that the President was not referring to wiretapping in a series of tweets about wiretapping.

Sean Spicer said that the tweets, which made allegations about former President Barack Obama wiretapping phones in Trump Tower during the 2016 election, were not meant to be taken literally.

He said: “I think there’s no question that the Obama administration, that there were actions about surveillance and other activities that occurred in the 2016 election.

“The President used the word wiretaps in quotes to mean, broadly, surveillance and other activities.”

President Trump tweeted on 4 March: “Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!”

He later added: “Is it legal for a sitting President to be “wire tapping” a race for president prior to an election?

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“How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!”

Spicer said that Trump was referring to the Obama administration rather than Obama personally.

He had earlier said that Trump’s tweet “speaks for itself” and refused to provide any further explanation.

So far the Trump administration have provided no proof to the claims that they were surveilled.

White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway has also suggested that Trump was spied on by the previous administration.

She told the Bergen County Record: “What I can say is there are many ways to surveil each other.”

Top pic: Rex