White House press secretary Sean Spicer is growing tired of journalists asking him about the timeline surrounding claims of alleged wiretapping of President Donald Trump and people close to him.
Spicer's frustration was on display during a testy back and forth he had with CNN's Jim Acosta during Friday's White House press briefing.
Acosta pointed out that there is varying information as to when the alleged surveillance collection occurred, with some people saying it happened after last November's election and others, including Trump himself, saying it took place in October before the election.
"I think if we are splitting hairs on what day of the calendar it was, that's a pretty interesting development," Spicer said.
Acosta then interjected and continued to ask about the discrepancy in the timeline.
"That's the president's allegations," Acosta said.
"I understand that," Spicer said. "But if the allegation is, well it was actually on the 1st of December or 10th of December vs. the 31st of October, I think we're starting to split some serious hairs here."
Spicer then explained that the real story are the allegations that Trump and/or people in his inner circle were spied on, intentionally or unintentionally — a point he's tried to make on several occasions.
Acosta tried to interrupt but Spicer continued: "I get your question, but if what we're really arguing is, did it happen on a Monday or Tuesday or did it happen on the 31st vs. the 7th or 8th, I think we've lost focus here.
"It is fascinating to me that we are now arguing over the date, not the substance."
Earlier in the briefing, Spicer expressed frustration over what he felt was the media's focus on how Rep. Devin Nunes was able to view classified information that allegedly proved Trump or people close to him may have been spied on, as opposed to the information itself.
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