White House Suggests British Intelligence Spied On Trump Tower, But UK Officials Deny It

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer cited a Fox News commentator at a briefing on Thursday who said that the United Kingdom's Government Communications Headquarters might have spied on Donald Trump, claims that were swiftly denied in a statement from British officials.

Spicer's comments came while he was defending the president's assertions that President Obama "wiretapped" Trump Tower, a claim which lawmakers have recently cast doubt on.

Spicer pointed to by Andrew Napolitano, a legal analyst, made on Fox News, in which he said that Obama enlisted the GCHQ, a British intelligence agency, to spy on Trump. He added, "There’s no American fingerprints on this.”

Gordon Corera, a BBC security correspondent, reported that a GCHQ spokesperson told him, "These allegations are complete and utter nonsense."

He continued: "They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored."

Corera also noted:

Susan Hennessy, a managing editor for Lawfare, criticized the White House for indulging such claims.

"GCHQ is our most important intelligence ally," she said on Twitter. "Trump compromising this relationship to try to cover his own embarrassment harms US security."

Napolitano's claims have not been corroborated, and he has provided no evidence to support them. In the past, he has brought up conspiracy theories, suggesting that he is suspicious of government accounts of the fall of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

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