Trump reiterates wiretapping claim; report finds no evidence

A classified report delivered by the United States Justice Department to House and Senate investigators does not confirm President Donald Trump’s allegations that the former president Barack Obama wiretapped him during last year's presidential campaign, CNN reported citing sources with knowledge of the classified report’s contents.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the contents of the report, but, earlier in the day, a spokeswoman confirmed it had delivered the document.

"The Department of Justice has complied with the request from leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and Judiciary Committees seeking information related to surveillance during the 2016 election," Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said on Friday.

The House Committee is set to hold a hearing on Monday with National Security Agency director Mike Rogers and Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey.

The Senate Intelligence Committee announced on Friday it would hold a hearing on Russia's meddling with the US election on March 30.

Trump has stood by his claim, repeating the allegation again on Friday while standing next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"At least we have something in common, perhaps," Trump said on Friday, motioning to Merkel, a reference to how the US National Security Agency had tapped the German Chancellor’s phone in the past.

Meanwhile, The White House has flatly denied all reports suggesting that the US tendered an apology to the British government over a report alleging that a United Kingdom intelligence agency spied on President Trump, at the behest of his predecessor Barack Obama.

Earlier in the day, however, a senior administration official told CNN that White House press secretary Sean Spicer and national security adviser H R McMaster offered what amounted to an apology to the British government for Spicer's comments on Thursday, when he cited a report stating that the said British intelligence helped wiretap Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign.

When asked if there was an apology by the administration to the British government over the matter, Spicer replied, "No, we were just passing on news reports."

Earlier, in a series of tweets, Trump accused Obama of wiretapping his phones without providing any evidence.

‘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.