Santa Fe New Mexican

Trump pushes ‘spygate’ angle in Russia probe

- Associated Press By Mary Clare Jalonick and Jonathan Lemire

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.

 ?? EVAN VUCCI/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? President Donald Trump yells to reporters Wednesday as he boards Air Force One for a trip to New York to discuss immigratio­n policy.
EVAN VUCCI/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President Donald Trump yells to reporters Wednesday as he boards Air Force One for a trip to New York to discuss immigratio­n policy.

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