Justice Department asks for more time after Trump fails to provide wiretap evidence

The Department of Justice said on Monday it had requested more time to respond to a request from lawmakers on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee for evidence about President Donald Trump's allegation that then-President Barack Obama wiretapped him.

The department requested "additional time to review the request in compliance with the governing legal authorities and to determine what if any responsive documents may exist," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

Trump provided no evidence when, earlier this month, he accused Obama of wiretapping him during the 2016 election campaign. A spokesman for the former president said the charge was "simply false."

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Julia Edwards Ainsley; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)