President Trump's accusation that former President Obama ordered surveillance of his 2016 campaign is "bizarre" and "baseless," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Tuesday.

"[Trump] has access to the intelligence and information that would show whether or not a warrant was issued," Blumenthal said during an interview on CNN's "New Day." "And there would have to be a warrant, either through a Title III court or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for any wiretap to be imposed."

" 'Incredulous' is the right word to describe the reaction many of us had to this allegation that is bizarre and, apparently, baseless."

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday with unfounded allegations that the Obama administration wiretapped his phone lines at Trump Tower during his presidential bid.

ADVERTISEMENT

FBI Director James Comey privately urged the Justice Department over the weekend to push back on the president's wiretapping claim, but the department issued no such rejection.

Blumenthal said Comey should have issued a statement on Trump's claim publicly because of the explosiveness of his allegation against Obama.

"Remember, this allegation is very, very serious, because there are specific legal restrictions on how a wiretap can be requested from a court, what has to be shown," he said. "And so my preference would have been for a clearer statement."

While speaking with reporters on Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer argued that "something happened" to the Trump campaign under the direction of the Obama administration.

"There’s no question that something happened," Spicer said. “The question is, is it surveillance, or wiretapping or whatever?”