‘ Adapt to the president’s style’

On Saturday, President Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wiretapping him. The fact that the charge was made through Trump’s chosen medium, Twitter, an “unpresidential” platform, according to much of the news media, should not alter the substance of the charge.

According to Heat Street, a libertarian- leaning website, the FBI sought permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for surveillance of a server located in Trump Tower on two occasions last year. The first request, which mentioned Trump, was denied. The second, written to omit Trump, was accepted.

If these reports are accurate, the Obama administration was surveilling Trump campaign associates. Who was spied on and how much, and whether the surveillance reports were shared, is unknown. Trump chose to blame Obama directly, and Obama officials have denied that he gave the order, but they pointedly have not denied the existence of the wiretap.

Simply because Obama didn’t formally sign his name doesn’t mean he wasn’t aware of the request or responsible. If Trump was wiretapped, what did Obama know and when?

The Obama administration has a history of sleazy surveillance. The Obama Justice Department went through the phone records of nearly 100 Associated Press reporters in an effort The New York Times called “chilling.” In 2015, the National Security Agency eavesdropped on Israeli leaders, also sweeping up private conversations with U. S. lawmakers, The Wall Street Journal reported.

News outlets obsessed with the non- existent offenses of the Trump campaign vis- à- vis Russia should focus their attention on the Obama administration’s Nixonian view of privacy rights. Our democracy would not long survive if every administration manipulated the FISA court to wiretap its political opponents.

As for Twitter, the news media are going to have to adapt to the president’s style, not vice versa. This president prefers to talk directly to the people and not through the news media. If that’s a source of discomfort to them, they’ve only themselves to blame.