The US Justice Department says there is no evidence to support President Donald Trump's claim that his predecessor Barack Obama had ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower before last year's election.
In a motion, the DOJ said, "Both FBI and NSD (the National Security Division) confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps as described by the March 4, 2017 tweets."
The motion for summary judgment filed Friday came in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the watchdog group American Oversight.
The group said in a statement that the DOJ filing “confirmed in writing that President Trump lied” about wiretapping.
In response to the announcement, a White House spokeswoman said Saturday, “This is not news. We answered this weeks ago.”
"Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!" Trump tweeted on March 4, an allegation rejected by Obama a day later.
The accusation came after Breitbart News had reported about the claims made by right-wing radio host Mark Levin that Obama had executed a “silent coup” on Trump through “police state” tactics.
Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon was the executive chair of Breitbart before he joined Trump’s campaign team in 2016.
Democrats criticized Trump for making the accusations without offering evidence, describing his outburst as a bid to distract from renewed scrutiny of his senior aides and allies' alleged ties to Russia.
Trump also linked his predecessor to a major scandal, which has engulfed his administration regarding alleged contacts with Russian officials.
The president has been under pressure for the alleged Russian role in his victory; allegations that both Trump and the Russian government have denied.