Report says US government wiretapped Paul Manafort during, after 2016 election

Paul Manafort, advisor to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign, checks the teleprompters before his speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, April 26, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

A report claims that the US government wiretapped the phone of former Donald Trump campaign chairman under secret court orders before and after the 2016 presidential election.

The government obtained the order under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 2014, which focused on Paul Manafort’s work consulting for the government of Ukraine, CNN cited sources as saying in a Monday report.

That warrant was reportedly ended in 2016, but the FBI obtained a second warrant soon after that, which lasted until early 2017, including periods when Manafort was speaking with Trump.

That was part of an ongoing investigation into ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia.

It is  not unclear whether the FBI surveillance took place at his residence in Trump Tower,

Manafort also has a home in Alexandria, Virginia, which was raided by the FBI in July.

The FBI also eavesdropped on Carter Page, a campaign associate that then candidate Trump once identified as a national security adviser. Page's ties to Russia, including an attempt by Russian spies to cultivate him, prompted the FBI to obtain a FISA court warrant in 2014. 

Trump has been under pressure for the alleged Russian role in his victory; allegations that both him and the Russian government have denied.

Trump’s Justice Department has previously confirmed that they have “no records related to wiretaps.”