--- title: DOJ Says No Evidence Barack Obama Wiretapped Donald Trump description: There is no evidence Barack Obama ever wire-tapped Trump Tower during the 2016 election, the Department of Justice said in a court filing. canonical: https://time.com/4926141/barack-obama-donald-trump-wiretap-doj/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-03T16:30:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:32:37.326Z article:section: Politics og:title: No Evidence Obama Ever Wiretapped Trump Tower, DOJ Says og:description: "Both FBI and NSD confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps" og:url: https://time.com/4926141/barack-obama-donald-trump-wiretap-doj/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ff08c1dc9e4b235/6988dc4ae76ad2071162f027/trump-north-korea.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4928 og:image:height: 2772 og:image:alt: US-JAPAN-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP-ABE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: No Evidence Obama Ever Wiretapped Trump Tower, DOJ Says twitter:description: "Both FBI and NSD confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ff08c1dc9e4b235/6988dc4ae76ad2071162f027/trump-north-korea.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Justice Department Confirms There is No Evidence Barack Obama Wiretapped Trump Tower > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=453e48f4-3ebd-4552-915e-2135a2704f75&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Repeats Wiretapping Claim as He Stands by Angela Merkel [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Repeats Wiretapping Claim as He Stands by Angela Merkel](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/p2aaMrhb.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2017-03-17. President Trump repeated that he might have been wiretapped by Barack Obama Friday, even as he held a White House claim that British intelligence was involved at arm's length_  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Sep 3, 2017 4:30 PM UTC President Trump repeated that he might have been wiretapped by Barack Obama Friday, even as he held a White House claim that British intelligence was involved at arm's length  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Sep 3, 2017 4:30 PM UTC There is no evidence that Barack Obama ever [wiretapped Trump Tower](http://time.com/4762517/donald-trump-barack-obama-wiretapping-interview-cbs/) during the 2016 election, the Department of Justice said in a court filing on Friday. “Both FBI and NSD \[Department of Justice’s National Security Division\] confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps as described by the March 4, 2017 tweets,” the DOJ [wrote in a summary judgment court filing](https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3985960/DOJ-Motion-for-Summary-Judgment-in-Trump-Tower.pdf) on Sept. 1\. “FBI again confirmed that Case 1:17-cv-00718-RCL Document 12 Filed 09/01/17 Page 4 of 39 they do not have any such records by consulting with personnel knowledgeable about Director Comey’s statements and the surveillance activities of the FBI. ” On March 4, just six weeks after he was inaugurated, Trump issued a series of early morning tweets claiming that Obama had wiretapped Trump tower before the 2016 election—but had not found anything. Although Trump decried the move as “McCarthyism,” he did not provide any evidence it had happened. Former President Obama’s spokesperson was quick to [refute the claims](http://time.com/4691226/barack-obama-president-donald-trump-wiretap/) at the time, stating “neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.” Leading Congressional Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, also said there was [no supporting evidence.](http://time.com/4705124/donald-trump-wiretapping-republicans/) The most recent claims from the Justice Department confirming a lack of evidence are in response to a lawsuit filed by American Oversight, a non-partisan oversight group who had filed a Freedom of Information Act to the FBI and the DOJ”s National Security Division for all records pertaining to this claim. Former FBI Director James Comey, who Trump fired in May, said during his congressional testimony in March that while he was still in his position at the FBI, he had no information to support this claim about wiretapping. ## Transcript [00:00] Are there from time to time tweets that you regret [00:05] in hindsight Very seldom. Very seldom, so you [00:09] would have wished not to have tweeted something? Very [00:10] seldom, probably wouldn't be here right now, but very [00:12] seldom. We have a tremendous group of people that listen, [00:15] and I can get around the media when the media doesn't [00:18] tell the truth, so I like that. As far as wiretapping, [00:24] I guess, by this past administration, at least we have [00:27] something in common perhaps. [ LAUGH ] And [00:36] just to finish your question We [00:41] said nothing. All we did was quote a certain, very [00:46] talented legal mind, who was the [00:50] one responsible for saying that on television. I didn't make [00:53] an opinion on it. That was a statement made by a very [00:56] talented lawyer on Fox. And so you shouldn't be talking [01:00] to me. You should be talking to Fox, okay? 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