Following Donald Trump’s tweet quoting a former CIA analyst who accused a UK spy agency of spying on his campaign, the intelligence organization responded, calling the accusations “ridiculous,” and to “be ignored.”
The United Kingdom’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) was prompt to dismiss the US President’s implication that they worked with the Obama administration to surveil his election campaign.
The allegations that GCHQ was asked to conduct ‘wire tapping’ against the then President Elect are nonsense. They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored.
Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that a former CIA analyst Larry Johnson had implicated the UK in spying on the president’s 2016 campaign.
He captioned the post, saying, “It is now just a question of time before the truth comes out, and when it does, it will be a beauty!” suggesting the agency might have something to answer for.
Johnson initially floated the idea in 2017 alongside suggestions that the CIA was responsible for the DNC hack rather than Russia, and general criticisms of the Obama administration. The suggestion was repeated by Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano and the then White House press secretary Sean Spicer. Fury immediately followed across the pond, but was quickly abated when the administration distanced itself from the news report.
The issue cropped up again last November, when media reports emerged that British spy agency MI6 was fighting to prevent Donald Trump from publishing classified information regarding an FBI wiretap on one of his campaign advisers. MI6 reportedly opposed Trump’s move because it would hamper intelligence-gathering sources and methods. Trump allies, however, said that the British were worried about being implicated themselves.