Trump Aides Said to Apologize to U.K. for Repeating Spying Claim
- High-level government contacts after flap over Spicer briefing
- U.K. calls Fox News report Spicer cited ‘utterly ridiculous’
U.K. Denies White House's Trump Wiretap Claims
Top White House aides apologized to the U.K. government for repeating claims that its intelligence service helped spy on President Donald Trump before his election, said a senior British official, as the administration tried to stop a domestic row contaminating a vital international alliance.
The expressions of regret came in private phone conversations after White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Thursday cited a disputed Fox News commentator’s report suggesting the U.K. helped former President Barack Obama spy on his successor. Spicer was attempting to bolster Trump’s unsubstantiated Twitter claims that he had been wiretapped by the previous administration, but the claim prompted a high-level complaint from the U.K. government.