White House digs in on Trump wiretapping claims despite Comey testimony
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said he's not backing down.
— -- The White House did not back down from Trump’s unsubstantiated wiretapping claims in today’s press briefing, despite testimony from FBI Director James Comey this morning that he has "no information that supports" the President's allegations.
"We started a hearing. It is still ongoing," Spicer told reporters, saying "no" the President would not withdraw his the claims in his tweet asserting that former President Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower.
More than a dozen top lawmakers and intelligence officials have now said there's no evidence to support President Trump's tweet alleging that former President Obama wiretapped him. The list now includes Comey, as well as NSA Director Mike Rogers -- as well as the bipartisan leaders of both the House and the Senate, as well as both chambers' intelligence panels.
In today's briefing, Spicer also continued to deny any collusion between Trump associates and Russia, saying that "investigating and having proof are two different things."
"Following this testimony, it is clear that nothing has changed," Spicer said. "Senior Obama intelligence officials have gone on record to confirm there is no evidence of a Trump-Russia collusion. The Obama CIA director said so, Obama's director of national intelligence said so and we take them at their word."
Spicer said he was not aware of any White House officials under investigation by the FBI or that any had to do interviews with the FBI.
"There is a point at which you continue to search for something that everybody [who] has been briefed has not seen or found," Spicer said.
He also said that he has no reason to believe that the president’s confidence in Comey has been altered.