Deadline looms for DOJ to show wiretap evidence to lawmakers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department faces a deadline later today to provide lawmakers some evidence of President Donald Trump's unproven assertion that his predecessor wiretapped his New York skyscraper, a claim that has left Trump increasingly isolated within his own administration.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer tried to soften Trump's assertions today, saying the president "doesn't really think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally." He also said the president wasn't using the term wiretapping literally in his provocative March 4 tweets and was instead broadly referring to surveillance.

Trump's accusations against Barack Obama came amid a swirling political controversy surrounding his associates' possible ties to Russia. The FBI is investigating Trump associates' contacts with Russia during the election, as are House and Senate intelligence committees.

The White House has asked those committees to also investigate Trump's allegations against Obama. The House committee has turned the matter back on the Trump administration, setting a Monday deadline for the Justice Department to provide evidence.

Spicer said he expected the Justice Department to comply with that request, but added that Trump did not order the department to do so.

Trump's critics have slammed the president for making the explosive wiretapping claim on his Twitter account without evidence. Wiretapping a U.S. citizen would require special permission from a court, and Trump as president would have the ability to declassify that information.