Schumer: Trump Is ‘In Trouble’ Whether His Wiretap Claims Are True Or Not

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pauses as he joins fellow Democrats in announcing their request of the Republican majority to delay the confirmation vote on President Donald Trump's controversial nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, until the nominee turns over the thousands of requested emails from his time as attorney general of Oklahoma, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pauses as he joins fellow Democrats in announcing their request of the Republican majority to delay the confirmation vote on President Donald Trump's controversial nomine... Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pauses as he joins fellow Democrats in announcing their request of the Republican majority to delay the confirmation vote on President Donald Trump's controversial nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, until the nominee turns over the thousands of requested emails from his time as attorney general of Oklahoma, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Sunday that President Donald Trump is “in trouble” whether his claims that President Barack Obama’s administration obtained a wiretap on Trump Tower are true or not.

“If he falsely spread this kind of misinformation, that is so wrong,” Schumer told Chuck Todd on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

He said that doing so is “beneath the dignity of the presidency” and “really hurts people’s view of government.”

“On the other hand, if it’s true, it’s even worse for the President,” he said. “Because that means that a federal judge, independently elected, has found probable cause that the President, or people on his staff, had probable cause to have broken the law or to have interacted with a foreign agent.”

“So either way, the President makes it worse with these tweets,” Schumer said. “And either way, Chuck, the President’s in trouble.”

On Saturday, Trump claimed President Barack Obama was “wire tapping” his phones at Trump Tower ahead of the 2016 election. He offered no evidence to support those claims.

A spokesperson for Obama rejected Trump’s allegations later the same day.

“Neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen,” Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis said in a statement.

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Sunday that to his knowledge there was no FISA court order to implement surveillance on Trump Tower.

The White House nevertheless called the same day for Congress to investigate Trump’s allegations as part of its probe into election interference by Russia.

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