Tipsheet

General Hayden on Trump's Wiretap Accusations

On March 4, mainstream media took Trump's allegations, made on twitter sans evidence, of Obama wiretapping him and ran with it. Now, General Michael Hayden, former NSA chief and former CIA head, has something to say about Trump's paranoia. 

“What was claimed is inconsistent with the way I know the system works,” General Hayden said in an interview with Fox Business. 

The way the system works, as Hayden continued, happens to be that there has been no authority for a president to issue a wiretap alone since the 1970's. 

After explaining his history with leaks when directing the CIA, Hayden offered some advice to the Trump Administration in a Fox Business interview. 

"My tool though wasn’t a vendetta, wasn’t an investigation, wasn’t beating people up,” he said. “My tool was openness within the agency, so that people actually felt they had a place in which their views were valued. I’d suggest that approach for the administration.” He added: “What you’ve got is a situation that we as Americans have to agree is really bad. We cannot have the permanent government at war with the incoming administration. Both sides need to step back, take a breath.”

Stephen Colbert also conducted an interview with General Hayden on his "Late Show," in regards to the wiretap claims.