US President Donald Trump refused Friday to let go of his claim that predecessor Barack Obama had him wiretapped.
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Trump ignored calls by members of his own Republican Party to drop the claim and apologize, amid worries that his credibility and that of the United States are suffering as a result, and that his wider agenda could be derailed.
Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the president answered a question on the wiretap allegation by referring to the US National Security Agency's reported tapping of Merkel's phone several years ago.
"As far as wiretapping I guess by this past administration, at least we have something in common perhaps," Trump said.
But Trump also said he did not endorse a Fox News claim that Britain's GCHQ spy agency did the wiretapping for Obama -- an allegation repeated by Trump's spokesman Thursday, sparking a sharp rebuke from London.
Trump has accused Obama of ordering wiretaps at his Trump Tower in New York, but two weeks after the extraordinary claim, he has not delivered any evidence.
The claim has led to investigations in Congress and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but so far no one has provided any evidence to substantiate it.
