Story highlights It's a tactic Trump often uses, Pelosi said

Pelosi also questioned the sincerity of the Trump's request that Congress investigate whether Obama wiretapped him

Washington (CNN) House minority leader Nancy Pelosi accused President Donald Trump of using "authoritarian" tactics by claiming -- without any evidence -- that President Barack Obama ordered that he be wiretapped.

In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" Sunday, Pelosi called Trump the "deflector-in-chief -- anything to change the subject."

The California Democrat called Trump's assertions "just ridiculous" and a "smear."

But it's a tactic Trump often uses, she said.

"You make up something and then you have the press write about it, and then you say, 'everybody's writing about this charge,'" Pelosi said. "It's a tool of an authoritarian, to just have you always be talking about what you want to be talking about."

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