Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited the White House Monday, and managed to get a jab in to President Donald Trump about his unsubstantiated claims that President Obama had ordered a wiretap on Trump Tower during the 2016 election.
According to a report from a pool reporter, the press asked the President a question about wiretapping, to which he did not respond. But al-Abadi grabbed Trump’s arm and joked, “we had nothing to do with the wiretap.”
Earlier this month, President Trump tweeted his unproven claim about Obama wiretapping him, but provided no proof. Speaking at a Congressional hearing on Russian meddling in the 2016 election Monday, FBI Director James Comey said there is no evidence or intelligence to support these claims. Ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees have said the same thing.
Abadi’s visit to the White House was his first since President Trump was inaugurated two months ago. Trump said the two discussed the U.S. continuing to provide support for the fight against ISIS. The president was also critical of his predecessor, saying the U.S. military should not have withdrawn from Iraq in 2011, and critiquing the Iranian nuclear deal. The visit was largely overshadowed by Comey’s hearing.
“One of the things I asked him was why did President Obama sign that agreement for Iran because nobody has been able to figure that one out,” Trump said. “Maybe someday we’ll be able to figure it out.”