Trump talks about general surveillance in Obama wiretapping tweets: White House

Trump had claimed in a tweet storm that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower before his election victory

US President Donald Trump means general surveillance when tweeting his Obama wiretapping accusation, a White House official said.

"I think there's no question that the Obama administration, that there were actions about surveillance and other activities that occurred in the 2016 election," Xinhua news agency quoted White House spokesman Sean Spicer as saying at a daily press briefing on Monday.

"The President used the word wiretaps in quotes to mean, broadly, surveillance and other activities," said Spicer.

"The House and the Senate Intelligence Committees will now look into that and provide a report back. I think there's been numerous reports from a variety of outlets over the last couple months that seem to indicate that there has been different types of surveillance that occurred during the 2016 election," he added.

Spicer's remarks came after mounting pressure from the Capitol seeking the Trump administration for evidence that the phones at Trump Tower were tapped prior to the Election Day.

"I think the President has one of two choices: either retract or to provide the information that the American people deserve because if President Obama violated the law, we have got a serious issue here," Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain said on Sunday.

On March 4, Trump claimed in a tweet storm that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower before his election victory, offering no 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.