White House says no 'collusion' after Russia probe confirmed by Comey

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ANI Washington D.C. [USA]
Last Updated : Mar 21 2017 | 10:42 AM IST

The White House stood its ground on Monday even after FBI Director James Comey confirmed the bureau is probing possible links between the Russian Government and Trump campaign associates as well as knocked down President Donald Trump's wiretapping allegations.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, in response, maintained there's "no evidence" of collusion with Russia - and said Trump is not withdrawing his allegation against former President Barack Obama, either, reports the Fox News.

The remarks followed a day-long House intelligence committee hearing where Comey and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers testified. Comey used the forum to confirm for the first time that the bureau is probing Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign, including possible Trump team ties.

Post the hearing, Trump's presidential twitter account proposed that Comey declined to say before a House panel whether he briefed President Barack Obama on former national security adviser Mike Flynn's contacts with Russian operatives

"Senior Obama intelligence officials have gone on record to confirm that there's no evidence of a Trump-Russia collusion . and we take them at their word," Spicer said.

Spicer said that while the FBI is investigating the circumstances of the 2016 campaign, "there is no evidence, according to the people that have been briefed, of any collusion or activity that leads them to believe that that exists."

He added, "My point to you is that despite the narrative that gets played over and over again .every person Republican and Democrat that has been briefed on it has come to the same conclusion, that there is no collusion and that that's over."

At the same time, Spicer said Trump was not prepared to withdraw and apologize for his controversial allegation that Obama directed wiretapping against him.

"This is one in a series of hearings that will be happening," Spicer said, "There's a lot of areas that still need to be covered."

At the hearing, Comey said was unaware of any evidence supporting Trump's allegations that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the campaign.

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First Published: Mar 21 2017 | 3:56 AM IST

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