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GOP congressman to Trump: Apologize for wiretap claim

Posted at 10:58 PM, Mar 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-17 22:58:26-04

As two US government officials told CNN that a classified Justice Department report to Congress fails to confirm President Donald Trump’s claim of wiretapping by former President Barack Obama, a Republican congressman had one suggestion for Trump: Apologize.

During an interview Friday night on CNN’s “OutFront,” Erin Burnett asked Republican Rep. Will Hurd whether Trump owed Obama an apology for the unproven allegation. Hurd replied, “I’m going to quote my father, Bob Hurd, and something that he’s told all of my friends when they got married — it never hurts to say you’re sorry.”

Asked whether he wished Trump issued the apology Friday during a news conference where he stood by the claim, Hurd said: “He’s the President of the United States. He can do what he thinks is in his best interest, but this is something that will probably linger.”

Hurd, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he has not yet seen the DOJ report that was sent to Congress on the wiretapping allegation, but was not surprised by its apparent contents.

“I think it’s been pretty clear that there’s no evidence to suggest that” Obama wiretapped Trump Tower, Hurd said.

FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers are set to testify Monday at a House Intelligence Committee hearing, which Hurd called “must-watch TV.”

Hurd, who also sits on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, also weighed in on news that a Secret Service laptop with floor plans and evacuation protocol for Trump Tower was stolen from an agent’s car.

He called it a “troubling” and “very serious” security lapse, cautioning that “when one Secret Service agent shows a lapse like this, it affects the entire organization.”