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White House struggles to answer if Trump is target of probe

6 Comments
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE

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Spicer revised his response later in the briefing after an aide handed him a note.

His spokespeople seem to have trouble knowing what Trump's message is. It's not a good situation. Sometimes they go on talk shows and speculate about what Trump is doing or thinking, and sometimes they get it wrong. Correcting Spicer in the middle of a press conference is one example of that.

The accusation of espionage by Obama is a good example. From a recent press conference:

JACKSON: You've said the president stands by his tweets from Saturday morning that President Obama ordered this wiretap. You've also said the administration wants Congress — and let's be clear, you said he also found out this information — you've also said the president wants Congress to investigate. Some members of Congress, by the way, have asked the White House and asked the president to come forward with that information. So, bottom line: Why would the president want Congress to investigate for information he already has?

SPICER: I think there's a separation-of-powers aspect here, as I mentioned to Jonathan …

JACKSON: But you talk about resources and time. Why waste that?

SPICER: Well, it's not a question of waste it. It's a question of appropriateness.

JACKSON: But if the president has this information, if he's sitting on information that he found out, he's now directing or asking or recommending that the intelligence committees look into this. And you talked about — they have resources and staff, which they do. But why expend those resources and staff if the president found out this information and has it?

SPICER: I think there's a difference between directing the Department of Justice, which may be involved in an ongoing investigation, and asking Congress, as a separate body, to look into something and add credibility to the look [ph] — adds an element that wouldn't necessarily be there if we were directing the Department of Justice, for example.

(end)

His spokespeople seem to be claiming something about the separation of powers between Congress and the Presidency, and for that reason Trump is asking the Senate to investigate information that only he knows and that he refuses to show them. It also happens to be something that can be said if the accusations have no basis in fact, and we are supposed to believe that it's coincidence.

Trump's past factually incorrect statements undermine his credibility here, and what happened today with Spicer and the note leads me to believe he is either in the dark or covering for something. Either way it comes across as incompetent.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Who would've thought when Trump Tweeted this was "Nixon/Watergate," he'd be talking about himself?

. . . what happened today with Spicer and the note leads me to believe he is either in the dark or covering for something. Either way it comes across as incompetent.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

It's like if Mike Meyers had made a movie about being president.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

What are they, in Kindergarten? Spicer needs to get a note from another kid to read to the class because he didn't do his homework, or more likely doesn't even know what the homework was. How pathetic.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The Trump White House is now changing its tune on wiretapping and hoping people don’t notice.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said this when asked for proof of Trump's wiretapping claims:

“It’s not a question of new proof or less proof or whatever.” Instead, the goal of Trump's tweets was simply to get Congressional investigators to look into the possibility of wiretapping.

Uh no, it's still a question of proof because in Trump's original tweets, he already accused that Obama actually did do it.

("Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!" -- Trump )

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Hasn't it been determined that trumpy met with the Russians,if so him and his cronies need to be investigated!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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