# 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:** 34
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/661 "2017-03-25T18:51:27Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > To all: am I correct in thinking that our _one and only_ source for the ‘unmasking occurred (and it was improper)’ claim is Devin Nunes? [Certainly looks that way.](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/24/devin-nunes-vanished-the-night-before-he-made-trump-surveillance-claims.html) If he has all this documented evidence, why [trawl for whistle-blowers](http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/24/nunes-encourages-whistle-blowers-to-come-forward-on-trump-surveillance/)? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/662 "2017-03-25T19:00:26Z")
This whole mess is looking more and more like the Truth Movement trying to find someone, anyone, to agree with any part of their claims. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/663 "2017-03-25T19:12:02Z")
[Trump was right after all about the Obama administration wiretaps](http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/325648-trump-was-right-after-all-on-the-obama-wiretapping) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/664 "2017-03-25T19:20:03Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > [Trump was right after all about the Obama administration wiretaps](http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/325648-trump-was-right-after-all-on-the-obama-wiretapping) Oh, look, an opinion which acknowledges that Nunes is no longer sure _what_ he saw. Pity you can’t do the same. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/665 "2017-03-25T19:20:55Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > [Trump was right after all about the Obama administration wiretaps](http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/325648-trump-was-right-after-all-on-the-obama-wiretapping) You didn’t really read it, did you? > [@](#): > > Now, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee (who previously said he knew of no evidence to support the allegation) has disclosed that he has seen evidence that Trump presidential transition officials had their communications monitored during the Obama administration (**though Nunes later suggested that he might not have actually seen the evidence of the surveillance)**. > [@](#): > > He also said that the **inadvertent interceptions** were then subject to “unmasking” where intelligence officials actively and knowingly attached the names of the parties to transcripts and then circulated the information widely within the intelligence community. If true, that would clearly support a part of the president’s allegations and raise very serious questions about the improper use of surveillance. It would be Trump’s ultimate “redrum” moment. If the campaign was the target, the interceptions would not be inadvertent. Therefore, the campaign was _not_ targeted. ---
**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 25, 2017, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/666 "2017-03-25T19:23:19Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > [Trump was right after all about the Obama administration wiretaps](http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/325648-trump-was-right-after-all-on-the-obama-wiretapping) Quote the specific passage that convinced you. Bonus points if it isn’t: [QUOTE=The Hill article] Of course, the original tweets were poorly worded and inappropriate as a way for a president to raise this issue. Moreover, the inadvertent surveillance is rightfully distinguished from the original suggestion of a targeting of Trump. However, this would still be a very serious matter\*\* if \*\*intelligence officials acted to unmask the names and distribute them. The masking of names is meant to protect innocent people from such inadvertent interception as part of the minimization procedures in the surveillance area. The White House appears unwilling to address the exaggeration and unfairness of the original allegation, while most of the media seems entirely unwilling to admit that there **might** indeed be an alarming abuse of surveillance rules. [/QUOTE] Damning evidence indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/667 "2017-03-25T19:28:50Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Quote the specific passage that convinced you. You’re assuming **Okra** didn’t come into this convinced. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/668 "2017-03-25T19:52:07Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > [Trump was right after all about the Obama administration wiretaps](http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/325648-trump-was-right-after-all-on-the-obama-wiretapping) Thanks for the example, BTW. > [@Skywatcher](#): > > This whole mess is looking more and more like the Truth Movement trying to find someone, anyone, to agree with any part of their claims. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/669 "2017-03-25T23:41:32Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Thanks for the example, BTW.😃 Yes, Turley definitely is a dyed-in-the-wool rightwinger. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/670 "2017-03-26T01:18:40Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > Yes, Turley definitely is a dyed-in-the-wool rightwinger. I was referring to you. Perfect example of searching high and low for anyone who agrees with any part of your position, no matter how small. ---
**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 26, 2017, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/671 "2017-03-26T12:50:50Z")
**Okrahoma** , do you have evidence or do you recant your claim that ‘Trump was right about wiretaps’? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/672 "2017-03-26T13:04:16Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > **Okrahoma** , do you have evidence or do you recant your claim that ‘Trump was right about wiretaps’? Ha! Good luck with that. ---
**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 26, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/673 "2017-03-26T13:32:14Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Ha! Good luck with that. Yeah, I know. I just love making him dig. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/674 "2017-03-26T13:47:24Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Yeah, I know. I just love making him dig. 😉 The problem is he likes digging. And he thinks he’s burying us. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/675 "2017-03-26T15:31:22Z")
When he said “Obama”, he actually meant “the Obama Administration”… or wait, actually he meant the Federal government as a whole. When he said “wiretap” he meant any surveillance whatsoever. When he said “my phone” he meant the phones of anyone in the entire Trump campaign operation, or anyone associated with them. When he said “in Trump Tower” he meant “in the United States”. So essentially, if anyone associated with the Trump campaign was incidentally surveilled in any way by anyone in the Federal government anywhere in the United States, Trump is vindicated. When he said “bad (or sick) person”… well you got me there, I think you’d have to talk to Spicer or Conway to come up with a spin for that one. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/676 "2017-03-26T15:45:56Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > When he said “Obama”, he actually meant “the Obama Administration”… or wait, actually he meant the Federal government as a whole. > > When he said “wiretap” he meant any surveillance whatsoever. > > When he said “my phone” he meant the phones of anyone in the entire Trump campaign operation, or anyone associated with them. > > When he said “in Trump Tower” he meant “in the United States”. > > So essentially, if anyone associated with the Trump campaign was incidentally surveilled in any way by anyone in the Federal government anywhere in the United States, Trump is vindicated. > > When he said “bad (or sick) person”… well you got me there, I think you’d have to talk to Spicer or Conway to come up with a spin for that one. Obama sneezed once? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/677 "2017-03-26T15:49:21Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > …When he said “bad (or sick) person”… well you got me there, I think you’d have to talk to Spicer or Conway to come up with a spin for that one. I assumed he was talking about himself. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/678 "2017-03-26T20:07:29Z")
I wonder if Traitor Trump has tried ordering wiretaps on President Obama. You’d think that would show him how impossible that is. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/679 "2017-03-27T02:19:48Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > And that the Putin / Trump autocratic comparisons are dangerous. They are dangerous because they lead Americans ( and Trump himself ) to believe there is some sort of equivalence. I don’t think anyone is saying that Trump is equivalent to Putin; we’re saying that Putin is playing Trump and Trump is too dumb to know it. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384/680 "2017-03-27T16:32:51Z")
Nunes says he reviewed the documents in question on the grounds of the White House. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the White House gave him the documents, but it sure casts doubt on the idea that there was a whistleblower who was the source of the material. Your run-of-the-mill GS-whatever working at DOJ, NSA, FBI, or similar agencies doesn’t just get to waltz into the National Security Council office spaces and hold meetings with congressmen. Note that Nunes has said that he will not reveal the source of the documents, in hopes that more such documents will be coming from similar sources. That sounds all the more fishy now… > **[Who cleared Devin Nunes into the White House? | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/27/politics/devin-nunes-white-house-donald-trump/index.html)** > > It has been something of a mystery, the whereabouts of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes on the day before his announcement that he saw information suggesting that communications of then-President-elect Donald Trump and his... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-accuses-obama-of-wiretapping-him/781384.md?page=35)