Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said in an interview on “Justice with Judge Jeanine” Saturday that the Obama administration listened in on conversations between then-Sen. Jeff Sessions and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
“What we have seen from the previous administration is they did spend time listening to conversations between then Senator Jeff Sessions and the ambassador to Russia while he was in his U.S. Senate office,” Lewandowski told Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro. “If that were to take place – which supposedly did take place – what other conversations are they listening in on.”
Lewandowski, trying to connect the dots, said the previous administration said they were aware of two conversations Sessions had with Kislyak – one time during the Republican National Convention and another in the U.S. Senate office.
“And they were monitoring who (Sessions) was having a conversation with from what I understand,” Lewandowski said. “If that is the case, that is very concerning. Is it possible that the previous administration was listening to the conversations that took place in Trump Tower from their political opponents? If that is the case, and what Donald Trump alludes to is accurate, then that’s very disturbing.”
The Justice Department said Wednesday that Sessions did meet with Kislyak twice in 2016. The first was an office visit that occurred in Sessions’ capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the second took place in a group setting with other ambassadors following a Heritage Foundation speech, which was sponsored by the Obama State Department.
President Trump claimed earlier Saturday that Obama had Trump Tower phones tapped in the weeks before the November 2016 election. He made the claim in a series of tweets that included the suggestion that the alleged wiretapping was tantamount to “McCarthyism” and “Nixon/Watergate.”
Trump does not specify how he uncovered the Obama administration's alleged wiretapping.
Former President Obama denied Trump’s accusation.
“Neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false," said Kevin Lewis, a spokesman for the former president.