The indictment against Michael Sussmann, a former lawyer for the 2016 Clinton campaign, alleges that the campaign paid a technology company to "infiltrate" servers belonging to Trump Tower and the White House before the election for the purpose of fabricating a narrative that Trump was working with Russia. Now, a court filing from Durham's investigation into the Russia probe first reported by Fox News appears to vindicate Levin. Levin maintained that his observations were based on news reports and defended the "logical implications based on events and experience" that he drew from those reports. The Washington Post said Levin "breathed life into a conspiracy theory that Barack Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign." The Los Angeles Times said that Levin had pushed a "phony conspiracy theory."
"Levin cherry-picked news stories that supported his thesis and omitted information that cut against it," Stelter wrote. Multiple news reports linked what Trump had said back to Levin, calling the claims a " conspiracy theory." CNN's Brian Stelter claimed there was "no evidence" to back up claims that Trump was spied on. He suggested information that could have been obtained during that surveillance was being leaked to the media to undermine the 45th president and fuel a narrative that Trump colluded with Russia to beat Hillary Clinton.Ī few days later, President Donald Trump made his own claims that "Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower," which ignited a media firestorm. Citing articles from the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other mainstream news sources, Levin asserted that the Obama administration had obtained Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) warrants to monitor communications between members of the Trump campaign. On his March 2, 2017, radio program, Levin laid out the case that the Obama administration had used "police state tactics" against the Trump campaign. But the latest bombshell indictment from special counsel John Durham's probe into the FBI's handling of the Russia investigation suggests that Levin may have been at least partially right. BlazeTV host Mark Levin for years has been accused of promoting conspiracy theories on his radio show after he claimed the Obama administration appeared to have spied on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign during its investigation into alleged ties between Trump and Russia.