uk666 5,298 Report post Posted March 18, 2017 Donald Trump denies claiming that he was spied on by the Britain Speaking at a press conference in Washington, the President said the White House was quoting a legal commentator who had appeared on Fox News. However, after the Fox segment the allegations were then made again by White House press secretary Sean Spicer. Sean Spicer repeated the claims After the claims were repeated, GCHQ immediately released a rare statement dismissing the allegations as ‘nonsense’. Downing Street then said the White House had assured them the false allegation would not be repeated. Trump was giving the press conference with Angela Merkel , if looks could kill. At the conference, which was held after Trump’s meeting with Angela Merkel, a German reporter asked him directly about his claims that Britain spied on him. ‘We said nothing,’ Trump replied. ‘All we did was quote a certain very talented legal mind who was the one responsible for saying that on TV. ‘I didn’t make an opinion on it, that was a statement made by a very talented lawyer on Fox.’ He added that the reporters ‘shouldn’t be talking to me, you should be talking to Fox’. However, the President stood by claims he was wiretapped under Barack Obama’s presidency – even attempting to crack a joke about he and Merkel ‘having something in common’. A source told the Sun: 'Under the Five Eyes convention, we never spy on our main allies, and that includes the United States. 'This allegation is so off the scale crazy, it's very hard to understand.' The allegations of GCHQ involvement were first made by former judge Andrew Napolitano on Fox News, in a segment in which he repeated claims that Obama had spied on Trump. ‘[Obama] didn’t use the NSA, he didn’t use the CIA, he didn’t use the FBI and he didn’t use the Department of Justice, he used GCHQ,’ he said. ‘What the heck is GCHQ? That’s the initials for the British spying agency.’ Spicer then repeated the claim, prompting GCHQ to issue an incredibly rare statement saying the claims ‘should be ignored’. ‘Recent allegations made by media commentator judge Andrew Napolitano about GCHQ being asked to conduct ‘wiretapping’ against the then president-elect are nonsense,’ it said. Merkel’s visit to the US has been a lot more tense than the Chancellor’s past meetings with Obama. When the Chancellor and Trump were asked to shake hands with each other in the Oval Office, as is custom, the two sat still. But the credibility of the claim was falling apart on Friday afternoon as Fox News anchor Shepard Smith distanced the network from the judge's report - calling it 'commentary'. 'Fox News cannot confirm Judge Napolitano's commentary,' Smith on his afternoon news show. 'Fox News knows of no evidence of any kind, that the now president of the United States was surveilled at any time, in any way, full stop.' The President of the United States The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The President is considered to be one of the world's most powerful political figures, as the leader of the only global superpower. The role includes being the commander-in-chief of the world's most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad. The power includes execution of federal law, alongside the responsibility of appointing federal executive, diplomatic, regulatory and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Senate. The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances. The president is largely responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States. Since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites