Spicer: Trump did not literally mean 'wiretapping' in his tweets (VIDEO)

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made a valiant effort Monday to try and clarify President Donald Trump’s accusations that former President Barack Obama had him “wiretapped” during the election last year.

In a press conference, Spicer explained Trump had meant “wiretapping” in quotes when he sent out a series of tweets earlier this month essentially accusing Obama of illegally spying on him at Trump Tower and calling him a “Bad (or sick) guy!”

“I think if you look at the President’s tweet, he said very clearly quote ‘wiretapping’ in quotes,” Spicer said.

“There’s been substantial discussion in several reports,” Spicer continued. “There’s been reports in the New York Times and the BBC and other outlets about other aspects of surveillance that have occurred. The president was very clear in his tweet that it was, you know, ‘wire tapping’ — that spans a whole host of surveillance types of options. The House and the Senate Intelligence Committees will now look into that and provide a report back.”

Spicer’s comments came on the deadline day for the Department of Justice to provide evidence for Trump’s accusations. The White House so far has provided no evidence, and several former officials have denied the claims, including a spokesman for Obama.

The DOJ asked for more time on Monday to provide the evidence, and the House intelligence committee has extended the deadline to March 20.

According to CBS News, a spokesman for Rep. Devin Nunes, Republican chairman of the committee, suggested the panel may subpoena if the new deadline is not met and substantive answers are not provided.