Washington - 14 March 2017

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary, responding to Trump's wiretapping claims:

"I think he's extremely confident. There've been -- I mean, I've mentioned this before, I'll let them (Justice Department) do their job, I'll let the House and Senate, I'll let the DOJ report this, but as I've commented in the past, I think there is significant reporting about surveillance techniques that have existed throughout the 2016 election. I'll leave it to them to issue their report, but I think he feels very confident that what will ultimately come of this will vindicate him."

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary:

"I will just say the president has tweeted about this, he's pretty clear that he believes there was surveillance conducted during the 2016 election. I'm going to wait for the conclusion of that. I think there's pretty sound evidence that the microwave is not a sound way of surveilling someone and I think that has been cleaned up -- it was made in jest. So I think we can put that to rest."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary:

"I don't think -- the Obama administration didn't label it 'Obamacare,' they called it the ACA. I mean, this is the American Healthcare Act, the president is proud of it. The president is proud of the fact that we're working with Congress. But this is a bill that's -- it's not his, it's a joint effort that we've worked with the House and the Senate on. He's proud of it, he's proud of the impact that it's going to have on American patients, so I don't think this is about labels and names, this is about getting a job done."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary:

"This is the only vehicle that seeks to achieve what people on our side of the aisle have been talking about since 2010. This is it. If we don't get this through, the goal of repealing Obamacare and instituting a system that will patient-centered is going to be unbelievably difficult. This is the vehicle to do that."

The White House says President Donald Trump is "extremely confident" that the Justice Department will produce evidence backing up his claim that his predecessor wiretapped his New York skyscraper during the election.

The comments from spokesman Sean Spicer come one day after the Justice Department asked lawmakers for more time to produce that evidence. The House intelligence committee gave the department until March 20, the first day of its hearings on Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible contacts between Trump advisers and Russians.

Spicer says the president is confident that information yet to be released will "vindicate him."

Earlier this month, Trump accused President Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower during the campaign. Obama has denied the explosive allegations and there has been no evidence backing up Trump's claims.

Spicer also strongly defended the GOP replacement for the Affordable Care Act, saying "if we don't get this through, the goal of repealing Obamacare and instituting a system that will patient-centered is going to be unbelievably difficult."