March 9 (UPI) — The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation met Thursday with a group of top congressional lawmakers to discuss a slate of concerns, ranging from Russia to President Donald Trump‘s explosive claim that the last U.S. administration planted listening devices inside his Manhattan headquarters.
FBI Director James B. Comey reportedly met with the so-called “Gang of Eight,” a group of senior-level congressional members cleared to receive secure briefings, in both the House and Senate.
The bureau chief met with Sens. Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Richard Burr and Mark Warner in the Senate, and Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Reps. Adam Schiff and Devin Nunes in the House, NBC News reported.
The issue perhaps most on lawmakers’ minds was the president’s claim last week that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower in New York City before the presidential election — a notion roundly dismissed by multiple experts and the 44th president himself.
Trump first raised the issue last weekend with a tweet that called Obama a “bad (or sick) guy” for ordering politically motivated wiretaps in the building. The House Intelligence Committee is investigating the claim, along with potential ties between Trump’s administration and the Russian government.
Earlier this week, Comey unsuccessfully asked the Justice Department to publicly deny Trump’s charge that Obama had Trump Tower bugged.
It has been unclear where Trump’s claim is based and he has provided no substantiating evidence to support it. Through a spokesman, Obama immediately rejected the accusation — as have others, including former national intelligence director James Clapper.
“Absolutely, I can deny it,” Clapper told NBC News on Sunday, noting that he would certainly have known about any attempt to wiretap Trump’s campaign.
Members of Trump’s government and GOP lawmakers have so far refrained from repeating the wiretapping claim, and some observers say the Justice Department now needs to either debunk the accusation or back it with evidence.
Trump’s accusation could be based on various reports by certain media outlets, including Breitbart News, that reported Obama’s administration unsuccessfully sought two Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants last year relating to a computer server inside Trump Tower.
Those media reports, though, have had difficulty standing up to further scrutiny.
At Thursday’s meetings, Comey also reportedly discussed with lawmakers ongoing accusations that Moscow attempted to interfere in the U.S. presidential election.
