Contradicting Trump, DOJ Admits There Is No Evidence Of Trump Tower Wiretaps

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo



By ALICE OLLSTEIN Published SEPTEMBER 2, 2017 11:29 AM

-snip-

The Trump administration at first asserted that it could neither confirm nor deny the existence of any wiretapping records. American Oversight challenged that response in court.

“Given that the president publicly confirmed the wiretaps (in his March tweets) and former FBI Director Comey publicly denied their existence (in his testimony to Congress), we have argued that FBI and DOJ ought to be able to provide a straight answer about whether any wiretap records do or don’t exist,” the organization’s spokesperson Clark Pettig told TPM.

On Friday, the DOJ released a motion acknowledging they have no evidence of any wiretaps.

“The FBI and Department of Justice have now sided with former Director Comey and confirmed in writing that President Trump lied when he tweeted that former President Obama ‘wiretapped’ him at Trump Tower,” American Oversight’s Executive Director Austin Evers said in a statement. “As the president and his legal team continue their smear campaign against Mr. Comey, Special Counsel Mueller and others investigating him, this filing confirms that even Trump’s own Department of Justice does not believe he has credibility on a key element of the Russia investigation.”

Read the full motion below:




Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-tower-wiretap-foia-doj

[Xipe Totec]

1. Clarification - There are no American wire taps. nt

[L. Coyote]

2. DOJ: Trump lies.

The Cliff Notes version would save a lot of ink.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. I'm afraid it is worse than that

https://www.americanoversight.org/news/doj-fbi-tweets

News • September 2, 2017

DOJ & FBI Confirm Trump Lied in 'Wiretap' Tweets

The Department of Justice confirmed in a court filing on Friday evening that neither the DOJ nor the FBI have any records supporting President Trump’s tweeted assertion that Trump Tower was “wiretapped.”

In a Motion for Summary Judgment in American Oversight’s FOIA lawsuit, lawyers for the government stated that neither the National Security Division (NSD) nor the FBI have any records of the wiretaps President Trump in his March 4, 2017 tweets.

…

Statement from American Oversight Executive Director, Austin Evers:

“The FBI and Department of Justice have now sided with former Director Comey and confirmed in writing that President Trump lied when he tweeted that former President Obama ‘wiretapped’ him at Trump Tower. As the president and his legal team continue their smear campaign against Mr. Comey, Special Counsel Mueller and others investigating him, this filing confirms that even Trump’s own Department of Justice does not believe he has credibility on a key element of the Russia investigation. With Special Counsel Mueller’s team closing in – and reportedly investigating attempts by Mr. Trump to mislead the public on Russia – this filing serves as further proof that the president’s words simply cannot be trusted.”

…

More information about American Oversight’s lawsuit and investigation into the Trump administration’s actions related to the Russia investigation can be found HERE.

[Primer]

3. So he lied?

The media could start off by saying that.

[47of74]

5. Uh oh. I sense a 3am tweet storm a brewing

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

6. There goes that excuse

[moondust]

7. Add up the costs

of the wild goose chase investigation and make the liar pay for it. Teach him a lesson.

[Boomerproud]

8. Where is the apology to Obama?

Hmmm. Yep, it's not ever coming.

[riversedge]

9. Rec