Last Saturday, according to CNN reporters Jeremy Diamond, Jeff Zeleny and Shimon Prokupecz, President Donald Trump has made a very serious claim across his social media outlet (twitter), claiming that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower prior to the election. No purpose has stated nor has any evidence been pushed forward to support this claim. For those that don’t know what “wire-tapping” is, its an act of using a listening device to conduct surveillance, typically over a phone line.

While what would normally be considered a serious offense, United States intelligence officials are simply dismissing the claim out of hand, claiming it is little more than “nonsense”, or that these claims were false. For what purpose the president would seek to deface Obama in this manner is unknown, but what is known is that the phones at Trump Tower were never tapped by the former president or otherwise, making these charges to appear nothing short of slander. A president cannot simply demand a phone be tapped, as the order must have a warrant approved by a federal judge. With zero evidence of wre-tapping on one side or a warrant to tap the phones of the Trump Tower, the condition of Donald’s claim is flimsy at best.

“I think his allocations have been substantiated,” Stated Richard Taylor, a dedicated Trump supporter, when asked what he thought of the situation. “And I believe that the Obama Administration and the Clinton Administration resorted to nefarious activities in order to gain an advantage during the election.”

Mr. Thomas Runnion, a Biology teacher at Bob Jones had a different perspective, one a bit more skeptical:

“I think it’s very difficult to trust any politicians, especially at that level, no matter what party they’re affiliated with. I do know that currently, he is our president and the respect that comes with the office, and that I have a certain amount of respect for anything he’s going to put out here in the public for us. I’m doing what I hope every other concerned citizen is doing and waiting and seeing if there is any evidence.”

Whether or not there is any substantial proof remains to be seen, at least by the public eye. Regardless of whether or not it turns out to be true, it is a frightening action and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Whether it’s slander or the truth, one has to ask the question if future elections will be susceptible to these actions today.