FBI Director James Comey today said he has "no information" supporting President Trump's explosive allegations that the Obama administration wiretapped the Trump presidential campaign last year.

During the five-hour hearing, Comey also confirmed an investigation of possible links between Trump associates and Russia, a story line that the president has decried alternately as a "ruse" and "fake news." Comey also indicated that Vladimir Putin hated Hillary Clinton "so much" that he had a "clear preference" for her opponent.

"With respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets," Comey told the House Intelligence Committee today at his much-anticipated hearing — the U.S. law enforcement community's first public response to wiretapping allegations that the White House has promoted for more than two weeks.

"And we have looked carefully inside the FBI. The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components. The department has no information that supports those tweets."



A timeline of President Trump's unsubstantiated wiretapping claims



Key members of Trump's circle under scrutiny for Russia ties



In a series of tweets earlier this month, Trump appeared to accuse President Obama directly of having the Republicans' "wires tapped" at Trump Tower, likening the situation to "Nixon/Watergate" and calling the former president a "bad (or sick) guy." Trump and his administration have offered no evidence for the claim -- disputed by a spokesman for President Obama and others -- but have said that wiretapping could mean a range of things.

When asked whether President Obama could have ordered a wiretap, Comey said, "No president could."

The chairman of the committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., also said that there is no evidence to support such an allegation but added that other Trump associates may have been followed.

"Let me be clear. I've been saying this for several weeks. We know there was not a physical wiretap of Trump Tower. However, it's still possible that other surveillance activities were used against President Trump and his associates," Nunes said in his opening statement.

Comey confirmed that the agency he oversees is investigating Russia's alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential election, in addition to possible links between Trump associates and Russia.

"I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts," Comey said in a message that, according to sources, was approved by Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente.

Another member of the committee, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said ahead of the hearing it’s important that the public understands what the panel is really digging into.

"I would like the American people to walk away understanding that we were attacked. The perpetrator was Russia, and there are serious questions about ties" between Trump associates and Russian officials, Swalwell said.

But White House press secretary Sean Spicer today said “investigating and having proof are two different things.”

“Following this testimony, it is clear that nothing has changed. Senior Obama intelligence officials have gone on record to say there is no evidence of a Trump-Russia collusion," Spicer said, "... we take them at their word.”

Spicer also said the president is not going to withdraw or apologize for his wiretapping accusations.

Comey said the FBI has been investigating the Russia matter for "a fairly short period," but he wouldn't say how far along the investigation is.

But he did offer a possible motive for any Russian meddling in the election last year, saying the country's president, Vladimir Putin "hated Secretary [Hillary] Clinton so much that the flip side of that coin was he had a clear preference to the person running against the person he hated so much."

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