By Amber Phillips, Washington Post
On Monday, unsubstantiated claims that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during last year’s presidential campaign, substantiated claims about Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election to help Trump win, and cloudy claims about Trump associates’ ties to Russia all came to a head.
FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers testified before the House Intelligence Committee in a rare public hearing about what they know and what they want to know.
There was no smoking gun from either side’s perspective, but we did learn more about what the FBI is investigating and what Republicans and Democrats in Congress want to investigate.
Below are are six takeaways from the hearing. (For the full rundown of what happened, read The Washington Post’s national security team’s report. You can also read the entire hearing’s transcript.)
1. There’s no evidence of Trump’s accusation that Obama tapped his phones
Comey quickly confirmed where the last few weeks seemed to have have been leading: There is no evidence to back up President Trump’s claim that Obama ordered the wiretapping his Trump Tower phones.
“I have no information that supports those tweets,” Comey said.
Comey’s clear-as-day comments make it impossible for Trump to keep saying he was “wiretapped.”
But really, the whole wiretapping thing felt like a sidebar in this hearing to the FBI’s broader investigation into Russia and any Trump associates’ ties. That’s in part because most lawmakers feel it IS a sidebar to the real issue: A foreign country interfered in a U.S. election with the intent of undermining the United States’ political process.
FBI Director stated there’s no evidence of baseless wiretapping claim. Only remaining question: Does @POTUS have the decency to apologize?
FBI Director Comey refuses to deny he briefed President Obama on calls made by Michael Flynn to Russia.
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