Democrats defend FBI following reports it spied on Trump’s election campaign
By
Barry Grey
19 May 2018
President Trump and prominent Republicans have responded to reports that one or more Federal Bureau of Information informants played a central role in the Justice Department investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election and Trump campaign collusion by stepping up their charges of a political witch-hunt.
On Wednesday night, the New York Times posted a front-page article detailing the far-reaching intervention of the FBI and the Central Intelligence Agency in the Trump election campaign, even as the FBI was intervening against the campaign of Hillary Clinton through its investigation of Clinton’s emails. Trump responded with a series of tweets denouncing the Russia investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Included in the 4,000-word Times account was the assertion that “at least one government informant met several times with [Trump campaign aides] Mr. Page and Mr. Papadopoulos, current and former officials said.”
The Washington Post reported Friday: “The source is a US citizen who has provided information over the years to both the FBI and the CIA, as the Post previously reported, and aided the Russia investigation both before and after Mueller’s appointment in May 2017, according to people familiar with his activities.”
Indicating that the informant is involved in other intrigues by US police and spy agencies both abroad and within the US, the Post added, “The stakes are so high that the FBI has been working over the past two weeks to mitigate the potential damage if the source’s identity is revealed, according to several people familiar with the matter. The bureau is taking steps to protect other live investigations that…