U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey has asked the Justice Department to dispute President Donald Trump's allegation that former President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap on telephones at Trump Tower in New York last year.

U.S. officials who spoke to the Associated Press, Washington Post and New York Times said Comey's request followed Trump's accusation on Twitter Saturday. Trump has offered no evidence to support his claim.

What is not clear is why Comey has not disputed the statement himself. He was FBI director under Obama, and his department has been a lead in the ongoing investigation of Russian influence on last year's election.

Under U.S. law, a president cannot order someone's phone to be wiretapped. Such a move would require approval by a federal judge and be based on reasonable grounds to suspect why a citizen's telephone calls should be monitored.

Obama's Director of National Intelligence James Clapper called Trump's charge simply false. "There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time, or as a candidate or against his campaign," Clapper told NBC.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said in a statement Sunday his committee "will make inquiries into whether the government was conducting surveillance activities on any political party's campaign officials or surrogates."The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, said Trump's accusation was based on "conspiracy-based news."

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