The White House on Monday asked Congress to investigate what it said are leaks of classified national security information, along with President Trump’s allegation, presented without evidence, that President Obama wiretapped him during his campaign for president.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump wants the House and Senate Intelligence panels to look into “these pervasive leaks of classified information.”

Trump’s accusation against Obama, launched in a series of weekend tweets, sparked a major controversy. Lawmakers in both parties have refused to endorse his conclusions. Neither Trump nor his senior aides have provided any evidence to back up his explosive claims.

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Spicer would not say whether Trump has seen evidence of his claims, but asserted that “there’s no question that something happened.”

“The question is it, is it surveillance, is it a wiretap, or whatever?” he asked.

“There’s been enough reporting that strongly suggests that something occurred,” the spokesman added, while providing no specific examples.

Spicer also refused to confirm reports that FBI Director James Comey asked the Justice Department to knock down Trump’s claims, saying he’s seen no on-the-record account of the incident. The New York Times first reported the conversations, citing anonymous government sources.



Trump and Comey have not spoken about the wiretapping accusations "to the best of my knowledge," Spicer said.

The White House is now trying to direct attention back to a series of leaks that have angered Trump and his associates. The leaks, which have fueled news reports, have detailed Trump aides' ties to Russia and sensitive phone conversations with foreign leaders.

Trump demanded that lawmakers looking into the Russia ties also investigate his wiretapping accusations.

Sessions made his decision after The Washington Post reported that Sessions spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice during the campaign, appearing to contradict testimony he gave during his confirmation hearing.