Nancy Pelosi calls Trump 'deflector in chief' over his Obama wire-tapping accusations

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has hit out at US President Donald Trump over his claims he was wire-tapped by former president Barack Obama during the election.

Democrat Pelosi used social media to accuse the president of attempting to deflect attention away from calls for an investigation into links between Trump's administration and Russia.

She wrote: "The Deflector-in-Chief is at it again. An investigation by an independent commission is the only answer."

In a series of tweets on Saturday (3 March), Trump wrote: "How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!

"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!"

A spokesperson for Obama denied the claims, which Trump has thus far provided no evidence for.

Pelosi suggested the outburst by Trump was intended to draw people's attention away from the variety of stories linking Trump and his administration with Russia.

In addition to information being leaked that led to the resignation of Trump's national security adviser Mike Flynn over discussions he had with Russia's US ambassador prior to Trump taking office, attorney general Jeff Sessions has recused himself from an investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the election 2016, after it emerged he had met with Russia's ambassador ahead of the vote.

An investigation into Russian interference in the election, as well as multiple information leaks from the White House, does not reflect well on Trump, prompting Pelosi to conclude the president's tweets are a distraction from the news on Russia.