Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano appeared on “Fox and Friends” on Tuesday morning where he made a rather startling accusation about claims that President Obama ordered electronic intercepts of conversations Donald Trump and members of his campaign had with foreign leaders during the campaign and transition. Essentially, the former judge alleged that sources had confirmed to him that the Obama administration essentially farmed out the Trump surveillance task to Britain to ensure American fingerprints would never show up on the project.
According to Napolitano,”Three intelligence sources have informed Fox News that President Obama went outside the chain of command” to conduct the surveillance on Trump. He further explained that Obama “didn’t use the NSA, he didn’t use the CIA, he didn’t use the FBI, and he didn’t use the Department of Justice.” Instead, Judge Napolitano, said Obama went to the British intelligence services version of the NSA to do the work, GCHQ.
The GCHQ shares a large portion, if not all, of the NSA’s vast electronic database of signals intercepts and that would enable the agency to gain access to records of Trump’s phone calls, the judge argued. This move would ensure that no American fingerprints showed up protect, in the event it was discovered.
Napolitano then said that the sources have informed him that the man who actually ordered the surveillance “[r]esigned three days after Trump was inaugurated.”
However, he did not name this alleged individual.
On Monday, the Justice Department requested additional time to present evidence of the alleged surveillance to the House Intelligence Committee and was granted until March 20th to comply with committee’s request.
[image via screengrab]