Former FBI Director James Comey called Attorney General William Barr’s suggestion that “spying” on President Trump’s campaign may have occurred at the outset of the Russia probe “concerning,” especially if Barr considers “court ordered electronic surveillance” to be “spying.”
“I really don’t know what he’s talking about when he talks about spying on the campaign,” Comey said Thursday. “It”s concerning because the FBI and the Department of Justice conduct court-ordered electronic surveillance. I have never thought of that as spying and the reason I’m interested to know what he means by that is if the attorney general has come to the belief that that should be called spying– wow.”
Comey: "I really don't know what (Barr's) talking about" with "spying" claims pic.twitter.com/KjnjcI84x1
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) April 12, 2019
During a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, Barr admitted that he thought “spying did occur” by intelligence agencies on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. He later clarified that he wants to look into whether “unauthorized surveillance” had occurred.
