US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders, an extraordinary step involving a high-ranking campaign official now at the center of the Russia meddling probe.
The CNN report said the surveillance of Manafort continued into early 2017, covering the period before and after the November presidential election. This reportedly covered a stretch when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump, though it’s unclear whether Trump’s discussions were ever picked up.
Also unclear is where the wiretapping occurred. Manafort has a residence at the Trump Tower in New York City, as well as a home in Alexandria, Va.
In March, Trump went a puzzling tweet-storm in which he claimed that former President Barack Obama had his wires tapped before the election.
“I’d bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!” he wrote, later adding: “This is Nixon/Watergate.”
An Obama spokesman at the time adamantly denied that Obama or any White House official ordered such surveillance.
The latest report does not indicate Obama was involved. It also does not make clear whether Trump himself was tapped or whether Trump Tower was wired, but leaves open the possibility.
Trump: I was “wire tapped”
CNN: Haha. That idiot @realDonaldTrump thinks he was wiretapped.
..Six months later..
CNN: Trump was wiretapped— Julian Assange 🔹 (@JulianAssange) September 19, 2017
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5 Responses
Trump lied plain and simple. Trump’s own justice department has said publicly that there is nothing to back up his outlandish claim. Obama did not wiretap anybody. Trump was not wiretapped. Trump’s crooked campaign manager who was a paid Russian agent was wiretapped under a FISA court order. Trump may have been listened into while he spoke to Manafort but that in no way justifies Trumps outlandish lies and slander. Trump wrongly blamed Obama and called it McCarthyism.Trump should apologize for his disgusting slander but of course, this egotistical maniac never apologizes.
This article is a good illustration of how a story can be twisted to favor Trump. The full story includes the fact that Manafort was under surveillance by the FBI going back before he was Trump’s campaign chair, because of his involvement with Ukraine and Russia. The Obama administration warned Trump against engaging Manafort in any capacity as part of the Trump campaign. Trump nevertheless hired Manafort as campaign chair. The suggestion in the CNN/Fox article above that Trump was right about being wire-tapped by Obama is an utter non-sequitur and clearly a spin to present the Trump allegation of wire-tapping by the Obama administration against him – Trump – as somehow a reasonable allegation. The only reasonable allegation is that Trump wanted Manafort and would not be deterred by warnings about Manafort.
Hopefully, Manafort gets a plea deal and spills the beans on Trump’s corrupt dealings with Putin and Russia. Julian Assange’s defence of Trump should give every American pause to consider why Russia loving traitors have a deep affinity for this president,
Why would the Trumpopf state any set of facts truthfully when he can lie about them? In this case, everyone agrees that the FBI had been tracking and monitoring Manafort for YEARS prior to the election on violations of U.S. law related to his Ukraine consulting work. In this instance, the Trumpkopf had the good judgment to place or take calls from a potential felon and his part of the call was taped. Even in his upside down world that is NOT equivalent to Obama installing wiretaps on his phone lines. If Osama ben Laden had placed calls to the White House, would that mean the WH was being ” wiretapped” because NSA satellities picked up OBL’s called the WH??
Seems these commentators here trashing Trump have their own unique interpretation of the English language. I read the CNN and t is clear that a second FISA order was obatined (apparently because the first FISA order produced nothing). And this second FISA Order, even according to CNN, related (at least indirectly) to the Presidential campaign (worded as “campaign associates” in the plural – Manafort is singular!). To quote:
> Sources say the second warrant was part of the FBI’s efforts to investigate ties between Trump campaign associates and suspected Russian operatives.