Trump, in tweets, continues to push FBI spy allegation

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday stepped up his attacks on federal investigators looking into ties between his campaign and Russia, saying on Twitter that the FBI’s use of a secret informant to question his aides “could be one of the biggest political scandals in history.”

In a series of tweets, that described investigators as the “Criminal Deep State,” Trump continued to allege the FBI “implanted” a spy among the ranks of his 2016 campaign aides. The president’s allegation stems from news reports that the bureau used an outside informant — a Cambridge University professor — to meet with Trump’s campaign aides as part of the FBI’s then-nascent investigation on Russian election interference.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday before departing to New York, Trump said his calls for an investigation into alleged spying on his campaign “is a service to this country.”

“A lot of bad things have happened,” Trump said. “We’re calling it spygate.”

Multiple media outlets, including The Washington Post, have identified Stefan A. Halper, a longtime Republican and foreign policy scholar, as an informant who spoke with at least three of Trump’s campaign advisers as the FBI sought to learn more about possible communications between Russia and the campaign.

Halper met with Trump campaign advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, according to The New York Times. Papadopoulos has since pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about his communications with Russia. Page, appearing on CNN Tuesday night, said, “I never found anything unusual, whatsoever,” about his conversations with Halper.

For the past week, Trump has used the reports to reiterate his claims that special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe is a “witch hunt!”

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“Look how things have turned around on the Criminal Deep State. They go after Phony Collusion with Russia, a made up Scam, and end up getting caught in a major SPY scandal the likes of which this country may never have seen before! What goes around, comes around!” Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning.

Intelligence sources have pushed back on the president’s characterization that their informant was an embedded spy with a political agenda. On Wednesday morning, former FBI Director James Comey, who led the Russia probe before he was fired by Trump last year, responded to the president’s claims.

“Facts matter,” Comey tweeted. “The FBI’s use of Confidential Human Sources (the actual term) is tightly regulated and essential to protecting the country. Attacks on the FBI and lying about its work will do lasting damage to our country. How will Republicans explain this to their grandchildren?”

On Thursday, Justice Department officials are scheduled to hold a briefing allowing senior GOP lawmakers to review classified documents on the Russia probe. Following calls by Democrats to open the meeting, the White House announced late Wednesday night that it was “working to make that happen.” The Justice Department followed up, announcing a second meeting would be held with the senate’s so called bipartisan “gang of eight” on Thursday.