Trump's evidence-free wiretap claim follows rightwing Obama 'coup' stories (Guardian) [View all]

[Amaryllis]

"The unprecedented attack by a president on his predecessor, made in a series of early morning tweets, stoked speculation that Trump’s remarks were prompted by stories circulating in rightwing media, including one that claimed Obama is attempting a “silent coup” against Trump.

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Obama’s former deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, tweeted back at Trump: “No president can order a wiretap. Those restrictions were put in place to protect citizens from people like you.”

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The issue resurfaced this week in rightwing media, which Trump and Steve Bannon, his chief strategist and former head of far right Breitbart News, are known to follow closely.

Conservative radio host Mark Levin made claims on his Thursday night show about the alleged steps taken by the Obama administration to undermine Trump’s campaign to win the White House. Levin called the effort a “silent coup” by the Obama administration and said this, rather than Trump’s Russian ties, should be the subject of a congressional investigation.

Levin’s comments were then summarised by Breitbart News, in a report that also made reference to the Fisa warrant reported by Mensch and the BBC.

On Saturday, Robert Costa, a Washington Post reporter, tweeted: “Per an official, I’ve confirmed that several people at the White House have been circulating this Breitbart story.” On Friday night and Saturday, Fox News hosts whom Trump is known to watch also remarked on the issue, with presenter Sean Hannity tweeting: “What did OBAMA know and when did he know it??”

Lots more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/04/donald-trump-wiretap-barack-obama-coup