US President Donald Trump has claimed Barack Obama had his "wires tapped" before he won the election.
He tweeted: "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!"
The president added: "Is it legal for a sitting president to be 'wire tapping' a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!"
In a further tweet, he wrote: "I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to election!"
And in an additional message, he said: "How low has President Obama gone to tapp (sic) my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!"
Mr Trump did not offer any evidence to support his claims, while Mr Obama has not responded.
McCarthyism is defined as making allegations of subversion or treason with insufficient regard for evidence.
It is said to have begun with an executive order issued by President Truman in March 1947, requiring all federal employees within the American civil service to be screened for "loyalty".
Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed in 1950 that known communists were working in the US State Department.
Later, in 1954, he was censured by the Senate.
The Watergate political scandal followed a break in at the Democratic National Committee's HQ in the Watergate office building in Washington DC in 1972.
Multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration were subsequently discovered.
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