Comey Asks Justice Dept. to Reject Trump’s Wiretapping Claim

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

FBI Director James Comey requested over the weekend that the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) publicly refute President Donald Trump’s allegations that former President Barack Obama ordered President Trump’s phones in Trump Tower to be tapped. Director Comey told the DOJ that the claims are false and must be corrected. The DOJ has not yet issued any statement on the matter.

The allegations of wiretapping come from a series of tweets by President Trump on Saturday alleging that former President Obama ordered the tapping of President Trump’s phones at Trump Tower in 2016 during the election season. Director Comey reportedly has been working diligently to refute the claim because it insinuates that the FBI broke the law. President Trump doubled down on his claims on Sunday by asking for a congressional inquiry into whether former President Obama abused his executive power by allegedly asking federal law enforcement agencies to monitor then candidate-Trump.

A spokesman for former President Obama has denied the allegations calling them “completely false.” Early Monday morning, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked on “Good Morning America” whether President Trump accepted Mr. Comey assertion and she answered “I don’t think he does.” Some members of Congress expressed skepticism regarding President Trump’s claims.

It remains to be seen if moving forward a whistleblower may emerge from either the FBI or the Trump administration to provide clarity on the matter. While whistleblowers in sensitive government positions do always come forward, there is precedent for a whistleblower revealing the truth on sensitive issues in Daniel Ellsberg’s 1971 revelation of the Pentagon Papers. It remains to be seen where the investigation of President Trump’s claims go from here.