# Trump accuses Obama of wiretapping him **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 4, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384 "2017-03-04T15:07:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/181 "2017-03-06T15:27:56Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > “Is this really happening or have I lost my mind?” Not mutually exclusive, of couree. And the question in PCP’s case is whether PCP had a mind to lose. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/182 "2017-03-06T15:42:28Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > The mystery of whether or not Pearl Clutching Provocateur actually knows the definition of the word “fact.” > [@Ravenman](#): > > “Is this really happening or have I lost my mind?” > [@RTFirefly](#): > > Not mutually exclusive, of couree. And the question in PCP’s case is whether PCP had a mind to lose. Please don’t personalize comments in a way that can be insulting to other posters in this fashion. If you feel you must, the Pit is right around the corner. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/183 "2017-03-06T15:47:02Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Please don’t personalize comments in a way that can be insulting to other posters in this fashion. If you feel you must, the Pit is right around the corner. > > [/moderating] My sincere apologies. While posting, I forgot this thread _wasn’t_ in the Pit. I’ll try not to lose track in the future. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/184 "2017-03-06T15:50:41Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yep, wins the thread. > > Google is working this morning. Your move. I’ve seen that same joke in at least 3 different places posted by 3 different people. And I’m willing to bet variations of “cornered in the oval office” joke has been made for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/185 "2017-03-06T15:54:56Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > My sincere apologies. While posting, I forgot this thread _wasn’t_ in the Pit. I’ll try not to lose track in the future. :smack: +1. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/186 "2017-03-06T15:57:42Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > I’ve seen that same joke in at least 3 different places posted by 3 different people. And I’m willing to bet variations of “cornered in the oval office” joke has been made for decades. Yes, we know. There’s nothing new under the sun. Still, it was new to me, and ha!-worthy. ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/187 "2017-03-06T16:45:13Z")
yeah, new to me too…(although I’ve done similar things to myself):smack: Its extra funny with all the talk of 4d chess… ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/188 "2017-03-06T16:57:25Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Trump wasn’t wrong when he claimed that he could shoot someone dead on 5th avenue in broad daylight and there would still be people who adore and support him. > > These are not the people that his repeated stupidity will alienate. > > It’s the people who have something that resembles a functioning brain and the inkling of a conscience along with some self awareness that will begin to abandon him like so many rats leaving a sinking ship. And they won’t do it because they suddenly realize the democrats were right or that Hillary wasn’t so bad. They’ll do it out of self preservation because he won’t have delivered on a single promise he made in the campaign and has arguably embarrassed them more than they ever thought possible. I wish you were right, but I’ve abandoned all hope that his supporters will abandon him, no matter what. I was saying the exact same things as you, _in the middle of 2015_: “Well, that has to be it, he’s gone too far this time, no sane person could continue to support him.” But I was wrong then and many times after that, so much so that I’ve given up. If his supporters haven’t already abandoned him for insulting the family of a killed soldier, for blatantly mocking a disabled reporter, for seething that Megyn Kelly was bleeding out of her “wherever,” for the whole birth certificate fiasco, for saying Ted Cruz’s father participated in the Kennedy assassination, and many more, what makes this latest crock of shit so special that his supporters will suddenly wake up? ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/189 "2017-03-06T16:59:07Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > I’ve seen that same joke in at least 3 different places posted by 3 different people. And I’m willing to bet variations of “cornered in the oval office” joke has been made for decades. No claim of originality from me - have seen similar going back to the Ford administration. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/190 "2017-03-06T17:20:32Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > I wish you were right, but I’ve abandoned all hope that his supporters will abandon him, no matter what. I was saying the exact same things as you, _in the middle of 2015_: “Well, that has to be it, he’s gone too far this time, no sane person could continue to support him.” But I was wrong then and many times after that, so much so that I’ve given up. > > If his supporters haven’t already abandoned him for insulting the family of a killed soldier, for blatantly mocking a disabled reporter, for seething that Megyn Kelly was bleeding out of her “wherever,” for the whole birth certificate fiasco, for saying Ted Cruz’s father participated in the Kennedy assassination, and many more, what makes this latest crock of shit so special that his supporters will suddenly wake up? There are those single issue voters that held their noses and cast their vote for Trump because they are small business owners and he promised to cut their taxes. Some voted for him because he promised to keep American factories from leaving. Or that the coal industry will be revived. Or there will be an immediate repeal and much cheaper replacement for the ACA. It’s those people, when they realize they’ve been lied to, who will peel off. And I don’t think they’ll rush to fill the Democratic party ranks out of revenge. I think they’ll just stay home. But the true Trump believer… no. Those folks aren’t going anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/191 "2017-03-06T17:26:25Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > There are those single issue voters that held their noses and cast their vote for Trump because they are small business owners and he promised to cut their taxes. Some voted for him because he promised to keep American factories from leaving. Or that the coal industry will be revived. Or there will be an immediate repeal and much cheaper replacement for the ACA. > > It’s those people, when they realize they’ve been lied to, who will peel off. And I don’t think they’ll rush to fill the Democratic party ranks out of revenge. I think they’ll just stay home. > > But the true Trump believer… no. Those folks aren’t going anywhere. I’m sorry, but it just is going to happen that way. Do you think this is the first time their party has made promises and/or claims that didn’tpan out? As long as there are new claims to be made and scapegoats to blame failures on they’re not going anywhere because they have too much emotional/psychological investment in the status quo. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/192 "2017-03-06T17:33:03Z")
Ideologues remain ideologues no matter what. That’s true of both sides. But there’s a reason that control of congress and executive branch changes on a regular basis from red to blue and back again. It’s the people on the margins who either switch sides or simply withdraw their support and stay home. ---
**Author:** ![1iLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/1ileft/32/4114_2.png) [@1iLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1iLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/193 "2017-03-06T17:41:28Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > But the true Trump believer… no. Those folks aren’t going anywhere. Yep, that’s the scary part. It is very discouraging to watch and read some of the comments of this youtube video - “[Mark Levin fox and friends on President Trump Obama wiretapping trump tower phones 3/5/2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA6QLbFi0do)”. This is frustrating. I believe that the right wing talk crowd are as destructive to this country as terrorist. If you’re looking for proof or wondering if Trumps’ followers will still follow… [QUOTE=youtube comments] … Obama thinks he’s serving his third term as president. Time to set this self-appointed Shadow Dictator straight. … Prosecuting Obama will cause a civil war, a much needed an overdue civil war at that. Get in shape, stock up on food, and arm up patriots. … Don’t you know that’s what Soros and the rest of the traitors want what in the heck do they get out of it a divided nation FEMA camps and stuff what wonderful thing comes out of their plans ? nothing! [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/194 "2017-03-06T18:00:27Z")
Sadly, the Alex Jones, paranoid & ignorant, full mental jacket conservatives are not going anywhere either. ---
**Author:** ![sear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sear)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/195 "2017-03-06T18:54:53Z")
> [@](#): > > “If there were a FISA warrant issued “against” Trump, that would mean that a FISC judge decided it was reasonable to consider Trump a foreign spy.” PX #157 I don’t believe Trump is a mole, a deliberate traitorous agent, determined to serve Russia to the detriment of the People and nation of the United States of America. BUT !! I’ve already seen the sound-bites of Trump contradicting himself, claiming both to have had contact with Russians, and to not have done so. We KNOW Trump is lying; for they can’t both be true. What do you say we put cards on table? Trump is unhinged. For a sitting president to accuse a former president of such apparent felony, and to not only do so without evidence, but also to the disagreement of the appropriate government authorities; the Trump administration has slipped the U.S. into banana republic mode. We’ll be the laughing stock of the solar system for the next 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/196 "2017-03-06T19:06:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Trump is supposed to be a big straight-talker, right? Well, then he should put his money where is mouth is. Put up or shut up. Trump can settle this any time he wants to: as President, he has the authority to IMMEDIATELY declassify the FISA warrant in question. It can be published and we can all read it to learn exactly what Obama (supposedly) did. > [@](#): > > Obama could not order a FISA warrant. Obtaining one would require officials at the Justice Department to seek permission from the FISA court, which is shrouded in secrecy. Judges could order prosecutors to share FISA information with defendants if they deem it necessary for challenging a search’s legality, but courts have consistently agreed with the government that disclosing the material could expose sensitive intelligence secrets. > One exception to this practice is **the president himself, who has the authority to declassify records. In Trump’s case, he could confirm any such surveillance of his campaign or business undertaken before he took office in January**. [https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-03-04/trump-alleges-obama-had-trump-phones-wiretapped-during-race](https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-03-04/trump-alleges-obama-had-trump-phones-wiretapped-during-race) > [@RTFirefly](#): > > [WH spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders, yesterday](https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/838429108807729153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw): “If this happened, once again, this would be the greatest abuse of power and overreach that’s probably ever occurred in the executive branch.” And this, of course, is why Trump won’t end this immediately even though he has the power to do so–to “expose” Obama’s alleged abuse of power. But he won’t “expose” Obama’s alleged abuse of power, because there isn’t one to expose-----and then he and his apologists couldn’t go on alluding darkly to “the greatest abuse EVER.” Those calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump-Russia ties, should add “and Trump has the power to settle the question of Obama’s supposed abuse immediately–_why isn’t he doing so_?” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/197 "2017-03-06T19:10:19Z")
Welcome to Trumpistan, the home of inane (and insane) 3 AM tweets and the tin foil hat. It’d be funny if it weren’t so deadly serious. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/198 "2017-03-07T03:14:27Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Man, it’s amazing all the things that happened in that conversation between Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch. Apparently, they’re both very fast talkers. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/199 "2017-03-07T03:19:12Z")
> [@sear](#): > > We’ll be the laughing stock of the solar system for the next 4 years. I think the entire galaxy will be laughing at us. Without a hint of proof, he accused Obama of doing something that he is not even able to do, and his supporters don’t give a flying fuck. His party in Congress don’t give a shit because they get to kill the estate tax and fuck over minorities. Emigration to Canada is looking so attractive. ---
**Author:** ![sear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sear)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/200 "2017-03-07T03:58:12Z")
BD #199 It does look rather grim. Everybody has an off day now & then. But Trump has a pattern going here. It’s not merely Trump’s claims Obama wire-tapped Trump. Trump also claimed: - Millions of people voted illegally (in an election he won!) - Birther issue - Ted Cruz’ father involved in JFK’s assassination I don’t know where it’ll end. BUT !! This guy’s finger is on “the button”. - uh oh - [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384.md?page=11)