Spicer: Trump Explained His Wiretapping Tweet By Citing Media Reports

White House press secretary Sean Spicer calls on a member of the media during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, March 13, 2017. Spicer discussed surveillance during the 2016 president... White House press secretary Sean Spicer calls on a member of the media during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, March 13, 2017. Spicer discussed surveillance during the 2016 presidential campaign, North Korea, anti-Semitic attacks and other topics. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) MORE LESS
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After another press conference in which he refused to provide any evidence for President Donald Trump’s claim that his predecessor wiretapped him, Sean Spicer acknowledged that Trump had cited media reports in a conversation about the charge with him.

Earlier in the press conference, Spicer was asked whether the President had shared what he claimed to know about the wiretapping with the Department of Justice.

“I’m not going to get into what the President knew or didn’t know prior to it. I think we’ve already commented on this multiple times,” Spicer replied.

Then how, NBC’s Hallie Jackson followed up later, did Spicer know that Trump meant to include multiple forms of surveillance when he put the word “wiretapping” in quotes in his original accusation?

“In some cases I’ll ask him, ‘What do the quotes mean?’ and he’ll say – ” Spicer began in response.

“Did you ask him about this tweet?” Jackson asked.

“I did,” Spicer replied.

“What did he say,” Jackson asked.

“He said they were in quotes, it’s referring to surveillance overall, it was something that had been referred to in other reports,” Spicer said.

“So he cited other reports in his conversation with you?” Jackson asked.

“He did, yes,” Spicer replied.

“So is that what he was basing that tweet on?” Jackson asked.

“I’m not – as I just mentioned, good try, but I’ve been clear on that,” Spicer said, ending the conversation.

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Notable Replies

  1. You cannot inaccurately cite the NYT in one instance, then call it “Fake News” in another. The same thing goes for the CBO

  2. He wrote a great book on Trump many years ago and was sued. Yet his book remains a classic Trump Nation Thank you Mr. O’Brien.

    Wasn’t there a 15 million dollar penthouse purchased with a Chinese connection?

    Chinese business consultant buys $16 million Trump penthouse

    Manhattan socialite touts her company’s access to influence in China

    President Donald Trump’s real estate company has closed on one of its first big deals since his inauguration — selling a Manhattan penthouse to the owner of a Chinese business consultancy for nearly $16 million.

    Trump Park Avenue, LLC, which operates a posh condominium on Upper East Side of Manhattan, sold the three-bedroom penthouse last week to Angela Chen, a New York socialite and founder of Global Alliance Associates, according to property records.

  3. “I know that you understand what you think I said, but I’m sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

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