“I think this is just a distraction.” Franken
Washington, D.C. – Over the weekend President Donald Trump sent out a series of tweets claiming former President Barack Obama wiretapped his phone during the election.
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
While it is unclear exactly what evidence Trump has to back up his claims, Counselor Kellyanne Conway cited “credible news sources” as one contributor to the claims. This may be in reference to a Breitbart article that looked at claims made by radio show host Mark Levin of alleged attempts by the Obama administration to undermine the Trump campaign.
In an interview on ABC’s This Week, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) calls Trump’s claims “just a distraction”
“He claims this is fact, I think this is just a distraction,” Franken said holding back laughter.
Franken argues Trump is just trying to turn the focus away from the latest investigations into Russia hacking the 2016 presidential election. This comes after reports of interactions between Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The full interview can be viewed here.
Franken isn’t the only Minnesotan politician to speak out against Trump’s wiretapping claims. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) called the wiretaps “conspiratorial and dangerous.”
.@realDonaldTrump's weekend Twitter rant filled with bizarre allegations of wiretaps is conspiratorial & dangerous. https://t.co/q00ZfgZXM1
— Rep. Betty McCollum (@BettyMcCollum04) March 6, 2017
