Donald Trump is in trouble whether his wiretap claim was true or not, Chuck Schumer says
Democrat piles on the pressure just days after calling on the Attorney General to resign
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.President Donald Trump is in trouble whether his claim to have been wiretapped during the last months of the Obama administration is true or not, a senior Democratic senator has said.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer was speaking on NBC's Meet The Press on Sunday, days after calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step down over the controversy surrounding his contact with a Russian ambassador.
But he said "if it's true it's even worse" for Mr Trump because it meant a judge had thought him or his staff worth investigating.
The President alleged in a string of angry messages on Saturday that his predecessor had ordered his New York office be put under surveillance “just before the victory”. He called Mr Obama a “bad (or sick) guy” and likened the supposed move to “Nixon/Watergate”.
Mr Schumer said: "If he falsely spread this kind of misinformation, that is so wrong it's beneath the dignity of the presidency, it is something that really hurts people's view of government. It shows this President doesn't know how to conduct himself.
"On the other hand, if it's true it's even worse for the President because that means that a federal judge, independently elected, has found probably cause that the President, or people on his staff, have had probable cause to have broken the law or to have interacted with a foreign agent.
"That's serious stuff so either way the President makes it worse with his tweets. Either way ... the President's in trouble."
The President's unsubstantiated claim appeared to have originated in a conservative radio broadcast, later written up on Breitbart, the Trump-backing right-wing website headed until recently by Steve Bannon, now the President's chief strategist.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments