Just Because You're Paranoid . . .

That was quite a tweetstorm last night, even by Trump standards.  He went after the Terminator again, trashing Arnold Schwarzenegger for leaving the Apprentice, claiming he didn't leave voluntarily but was fired for "his bad (pathetic) ratings."   Oh, and he also had a few choice words for Barack Obama -- accusing him of tapping Trump's phones during the "sacred election process."   Ah yes, that sacred election process.  Trump claimed this was something he "just found out" --  purportedly from a Briebart news article -- and that Obama was a "bad (or sick) guy," a nefarious combination of Nixon and McCarthy.  But, don't worry, Trump assured us:  "nothing found" -- even though Trump could not possibly know that.

Given the shady collection of characters with substantial ties to Russia inhabiting Trump Tower, it shouldn't be at all surprising there would be government surveillance, including wire-tapping, in the building.  As for such taps, and whether Trump's own phones were tapped, there is a legal procedure, put in place after Watergate, in which intelligence agencies would have to obtain a warrant from the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) after demonstrating probable cause that the "target of the surveillance is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power."  

So, either Trump is a paranoid fool who is parroting fake news with an outrageous accusation against a former president (sick)  or he is trying to distract the public from focusing on the increasingly tantalizing scandal surrounding his administration (pathetic) or Trump's connections with Russia were substantial enough to demonstrate probable cause for a FISA warrant (bad).  Or maybe all three.