DHAKA: President Donald Trump made a stunning claim Saturday, alleging without offering evidence that his predecessor, Barack Obama, wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower ahead of the 2016 election.

“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” Trump tweeted early Saturday morning in one part of a six-tweet tirade that began just after 6:30 am, reports CNN.

The President went on to compare the alleged tapping of his phones to Watergate and called Obama “bad (or “sick).”

But two former senior US officials quickly dismissed Trump's accusations out of hand.

Another former senior US official with direct knowledge of investigations by the Justice Department under the Obama administration said Trump's phones were never tapped.

A spokesman for Obama, Kevin Lewis, called “any suggestion” that Obama or any White House official ordered surveillance against Trump “simply false.”

The former senior US official with direct knowledge of the Justice Department's investigations said Obama could not have ordered such a warrant. It would have been taken to a judge by investigators, but investigators never sought a warrant to monitor Trump's phones, the former official said.

A federal judge would only have approved a warrant to wiretap Trump's phones if he or she had found probable cause that Trump had committed a federal crime or was a foreign agent.

Trump and senior officials of his administration had been repeatedly accused of having connection with Russia. Earlier, a senior official resigned over Russia claims. Trump appointed attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from any investigation related to the Trump campaign for similar Russia claims two days ago. Some Democrats have continued to call for Sessions' resignation also.

A South Carolina Republican, senator Lindsey Graham, who has been critical of Trump vowed “to get to the bottom of this” at a town hall event on Saturday.

BDST: 1655 HRS, MAR 05, 2017
AP