The US Justice Department has confirmed there is no evidence to back up President Donald Trump's claim that his predecessor wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 election campaign.

"Both FBI and NSD (National Security Division) confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps as described by the March 4, 2017 tweets," the department said in a court filing that came about in response to a freedom of information request by a government watchdog. 

The NSD is a division of the Department of Justice.