WASHINGTON: In a startling revelation, US President Donald Trump, who is facing an impeachment inquiry from the opposition Democratic Party, on Friday accused the previous Obama administration of spying on his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump said whatever the modern-day version of wiretapping may be, but the anti-Trump conspiracy still went "to the highest level" of the Obama administration.
"You're dealing at the highest levels of government. They were spying on my campaign. This is my opinion. I said it a long time ago," Trump told Fox News in an interview.
"Remember, when I put out a tweet and I talked about, they're wiretapping, in quotes, meeting, modern-day version of whatever wiretapping may be. And all hell broke loose. You know, who would have thought," he said.
Trump claimed that Democrats "looked like fools" during this week's impeachment proceedings.
The president is gearing up for what polls suggest will be a tough 2020 general election.
"Personally, I think it goes all the way, because I think it's impossible," he said when asked if his predecessor was personally involved in spying.
"President, you say it could be historic. You have suggested in the past that this might go much higher than the Department of Justice or the FBI during the Obama administration. Are you suggesting it could actually go up into the West Wing of the Obama administration?" he was asked.
"I think this goes to the highest level. I hate to say it. I think it's a disgrace.
They thought I was going to win, and they said, how can we stop him? They wrote up the phony - fake dossier, the disgusting, fake dossier. And they tried to have it put out prior to the election. Just to show you how incompetent they were, they spent millions and millions of dollars - Hillary Clinton paid for it and the Democrats. A lot of it had to do, they say, with Ukraine," Trump alleged.
Trump described the last two and half years as the most productive of his presidency.
"I think we've had the most productive presidency ever for the first two and a half years, but it doesn't mean that it was pleasant," he said.