Trump passes the buck to Fox News on wiretap evidence - here's Shep Smith's forceful response

Shepard Smith absolutely rejected any responsibility they had for comments made by contributor Judge Napolitano that President Trump used to justify his accusation that Obama wiretapped Trump Towers. He made the pointed comments Friday on Fox News.

"President Trump got the wiretap question a short time ago," Smith reported, "during the news conference with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It came not from an American journalist but from a German reporter. The president is apparently standing by his claim that the White House ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower under President Obama. And in doing so, he referred to information from Wikileaks that showed that the NSA had been wiretapping Angela Merkel."

Fox played video of Trump joking at the press conference. "As far as wiretapping, I guess," he offered, "by you know, this past administration, at least we have something in common perhaps."

"In other words that they were both wiretapped," Smith explained. "When there's no evidence of that."

"Of course," he added, "the president could learn first-hand whether the building in which he lives was wiretapped. All he'd have to do is ask the intelligence services. They work for him."

"Further the German reporter asked President Trump," Smith continued, "about his Press Secretary Sean Spicer's citing of the Fox News senior judicial analyst. Judge Andrew Napolitano commented on the morning show, 'Fox and Friends,' that he has sources who say British intelligence was involved in surveillance at Trump Tower. Our White House team will have much more on that from the White House in just a moment."

Shep: "Fox News knows of no evidence of any kind that the president of the United States was surveilled at any time in any way, full stop." pic.twitter.com/W3XkViL4ES

— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) March 17, 2017

"Fox News cannot confirm Judge Napolitano's commentary," Smith intoned. "Fox News knows of no evidence of any kind that the president of the United States was surveilled at any time in any way, full stop."

CNN reported that the Trump administration apologized to the British for accusing them of spying on Trump as a candidate, but then later the White House denied that the apology took place.

[graphiq id="lDyhMRS9vMh" title="Wiretap Authorization in the US" width="600" height="582" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/lDyhMRS9vMh" ]

The Trump administration has been on the defensive about the president's accusations against Obama and his demand that Congress investigate. Both the House and Senate intelligence committees have said they have no evidence of any such wiretapping.

Looking at the news sources where Trump derived his accusation, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly said the case has been settled. Trump meanwhile has said he will provide an investigatory committee with the evidence he has for the claim.