IG Destroys GOP Claims Of FBI Spying On Trump

IG Michael Horowitz shot down the Republican claims that the FBI spied on the Trump campaign while testifying before the Senate.

Here was the exchange between Horowitz and Sen. Maize Hirono (D-HI):

Hirono: In April 2019, attorney general Barr told congress, quote, I think spying did occur. When talking about the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties with the Russian government in the 2016 election. And yesterday, Attorney General Barr reiterated the Trump campaign was clearly — I’m quoting him now — clearly spied upon. He claimed the FBI’s investigation — investigative actions, which you discuss in your report, constitute spying. And the word spying carries, I would say, negative connotations. Don’t you think? I mean, it sounds like law enforcement is doing something they’re not authorized to do. That they would spy on us.

Horowitz: And that’s why we use and only rely on the word that’s in the law, which is surveillance.

Hirono: And yet, we have the highest law enforcement person in our entire country using a word not just once but twice. Using the word spying. So clearly, your report found that the FBI’s investigation was for an authorized and with an adequate predicate. You would not use such a word in your report.

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Horowitz: We don’t use that in our report.

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Republicans have spent much of the hearing claiming and in some cases, like Ted Cruz, screaming that the Trump campaign was spied on. There was no spying. The FBI did not infiltrate the Trump campaign and spy on him. They did have human intelligence sources, which means that people inside the Trump campaign talked to the FBI.

The claims of spying are bogus, which is why Horowitz shot them down.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association