House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) seconded Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC)’s assessment that the FBI acted properly in utilizing an informant to converse with Trump campaign advisers in a rare public stance in opposition to President Donald Trump.
“I think Chairman Gowdy’s initial assessment is accurate,” Ryan said during a press conference Wednesday. “I have seen no evidence to the contrary of the initial assessment that Chairman Gowdy has made.”
The speaker added that he still wants to get some questions answered and bemoaned that Republican congressional leaders did not receive the briefing sooner.
In late May, DOJ officials held two briefings to inform congressional leaders about the FBI informant’s interactions with the Trump campaign as the President doubled down on denunciations of the “spy” who he claims, without any evidence, was sent to destroy his 2016 campaign.
Following the briefing, Gowdy, chair of the House Oversight Committee, said he was “even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do when they got the information they got and that it has nothing to do with Trump.”
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Trump lawyer Emmet Flood also attended the briefing, prompting outrage from Democrats, but reportedly left after giving introductory remarks.
Watch Ryan’s remarks below:
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) June 6, 2018
