Trump pushes ‘spygate’ angle in Russia probe
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has branded his latest attempt to discredit the special counsel’s Russia investigation as “spygate,” part of a newly invigorated strategy embraced by his Republican colleagues to raise suspicions about the probe that has dogged his presidency since the start.
Trump now is zeroing in on — and at times embellishing — reports that a longtime U.S. government informant approached members of his 2016 campaign during the presidential election in a possible bid to glean intelligence on Russian efforts to sway the election. He tweeted Wednesday morning that the FBI has been caught in a “major SPY scandal.”
Trump’s latest broadsides set the stage for an unusual decision by the White House to arrange a briefing about classified documents for just two Republican House members, both Trump allies, in a meeting expected Thursday, as Trump and his supporters in Congress press for information on the outside informant.
After Democratic complaints, the White House said late Wednesday that it would also give an additional briefing to group of lawmakers known as the “Gang of Eight” after the Memorial Day recess. That group includes the top Republicans and Democrats in each chamber and the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees.
Trump has told confidants that the revelation of an informant was potential evidence that the upper echelon of federal law enforcement has conspired against him, according to three people familiar with the conversations but not authorized to discuss them publicly.
Democrats said Wednesday that the briefing was highly inappropriate and asked for the “Gang of Eight” briefing instead of Thursday’s GOP-only meeting. After negotiations with leaders on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon, White House spokesman Raj Shah announced the additional bipartisan meeting but said Thursday’s briefing would go on.
The meeting scheduled for Thursday was brokered by the White House. Expected attendees are FBI Director Christopher Wray, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, Justice Department official Edward O’Callaghan, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy.
Nunes has been demanding information on an FBI source in the Russia investigation. And Trump took up the cause as the White House tries to combat the threat posed by Mueller’s investigation.
Former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by Trump last year, tweeted Wednesday that the agency’s use of secret informants was “tightly regulated and essential to protecting the country.”
Trump told reporters in response: “I did a great service to this country by firing James Comey.”
The back and forth between Congress and the Justice Department over the Nunes request has been simmering for weeks. The department originally rejected Nunes’ appeal, writing in a letter in April that his request for information “could have severe consequences, including potential loss of human life.”
Negotiations over the information was restarted when Trump demanded Sunday that the Justice Department investigate “whether or not the FBI/ DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes.”
The Justice Department agreed by expanding an internal investigation to determine whether there was any politically motivated surveillance.