Chuck Schumer calls on Trump to apologize for wiretapping claims

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) on Monday reportedly called on United States President Donald Trump to apologize for his unsubstantiated claims that Trump Tower was wiretapped during the 2016 election.

In a series of tweets about two weeks ago, Trump said former President Barack Obama had tapped his phones during the “very sacred election process.”

“This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!” Trump said in one tweet. The tweets have sparked controversy in Washington, with both Democrats and Republicans rejecting the president’s claims.

FBI Director James Comey told Congress Monday both his agency and the Department of Justice have not found any evidence behind Trump’s claims. Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said Trump should apologize to Obama and retract his claims, according to Syracuse.com.

“President Trump owes the American people and President Obama more than just an explanation, but an apology,” Schumer said, per Syracuse.com. “He should admit he was wrong, stop the outlandish tweets, and get to work on behalf of this country.”

Comey told legislators on the House Intelligence Committee that no president could order the surveillance described by Trump in his tweets, according to the Washington Post.

The FBI director is just the latest official to reject the claims. California Rep. Devin Nunes, the House Intelligence Committee’s chairman, last week said “I don’t think there was an actual tap of Trump Tower,” according to The New York Times. Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, said he did not provide information to the president that would have formed the basis for his claims about wiretapping, per The New York Times.

According to CNN, Trump originally got the idea that Obama could have wiretapped his phones from a Breitbart article.

Schumer said Trump’s claims have damaged the president’s credibility, per Syracuse.com.

“No matter what else happened, there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it — President Obama wiretapping Trump Tower did not happen,” he said, per Syracuse.com.