CNN reports that Press Secretary Sean Spicer has “offered what amounted to an apology” to the U.K. following his remarks at Thursday’s press briefing.
After ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked Spicer about whether the president still believes Trump Tower was under surveillance by Pres. Obama, Spicer gave an 8-minute answer citing multiple media reports which Spicer hoped would prove the president correct.
One of those reports was from Fox News’s Judge Andrew Napolitano. Spicer quoted Napolitano’s report, “three intelligence sources informed Fox News President Obama went outside the chain of command, he didn’t use the NSA, CIA, FBI and he didn’t use the department of justice. He used GCHQ.”
The GCHQ is the acronym for British intelligence, which is denying Napolitano’s report and not happy it was brought up by Spicer.
“Recent allegations made by media commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano about GCHQ being asked to conduct ‘wire tapping’ against the then President Elect are nonsense,” a statement reads. “They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored.”
Napolitano isn’t backing down, saying Tuesday night on FBN (before this went wide via Spicer at the briefing): “Did the British CIA as I keep calling it, the GCHQ, actually do this? They say no. The intelligence sources with whom I spoke say yes. I don’t know if the investigators will get to the bottom of it.”