Trump Tower was wiretapped, but Trump wasn't target - report

A report from ABC News suggests US President Donald Trump's claims that the skyscraper bearing his name was wiretapped are true - but it had nothing to do with him or his presidential campaign.

Mr Trump fired the serious allegations at predecessor Barack Obama earlier this month, taking to Twitter to claim that the former President's administration had fitted Trump Tower with wiretaps.

He has since copped plenty of heat for making such allegations without any evidence - but now it appears that he may have been inadvertently correct.

ABC News says that for two years ending in 2013, the FBI had a warrant to wiretap Trump Tower to eavesdrop on a Russian money-laundering group that operated out of one of the skyscraper's offices. The report says it was part of an investigation that led to the indictment of more than 30 people.

However, the FBI says the wiretap wasn't ordered by President Obama, and certainly did not have anything to do with Mr Trump's presidential ambitions. There is also no suggestion that Mr Trump had any knowledge that the wiretap was taking place.

That flies in the face of Mr Trump's tweets, which said that the unlawful surveillance took place in October 2016 - just before the election took place.

On Monday (local time), FBI director James Comey told a congressional hearing there was still no evidence to suggest that Mr Trump's claims were correct.

"With respect to the President's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets," Mr Comey said.

"And we have looked carefully inside the FBI. The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components: the department has no information that supports those tweets."

Mr Comey earlier confirmed that his agency was investigating "any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government".

Newshub.