Revisiting Trump’s Wiretap Tweets

CNN’s report that federal investigators “wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort” has prompted some readers to ask why we don’t “correct” our March 6 article “Examining Trump’s Wiretap Claim.” Simply put, there is nothing to correct at this time.

Let’s start at the beginning.

In four tweets on March 4, President Donald Trump alleged “President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!” Trump called this a “fact,” and compared the alleged wiretapping to the criminal acts of “Nixon/Watergate.”

Here are Trump’s tweets:

Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017

Is it legal for a sitting