President Trump fully expects that the Justice Department will submit evidence to Congress to substantiate his claims of wiretapping, despite the department’s request for an extension Monday night.
“I think that he’s extremely confident,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Tuesday. “I’ll let them do their job, but I think there’s significant reporting about surveillance techniques that existed during the 2016 election.”
The congressional committees tasked with investigating Trump’s claim that the Obama administration conducted surveillance on his campaign associates gave the Justice Department a Monday night deadline to submit any corroborative evidence the agency may have.
But hours before the deadline, agency officials asked House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., for more time to collect evidence.
“The Department of Justice has asked for more time to comply with the House Intelligence Committee’s request for information related to possible surveillance of Donald Trump or his associates during the election campaign,” an aide to Nunes said in a statement.
“We have asked the department to provide us this information before the committee’s open hearing scheduled for March 20,” the aide added.
