Surveillance of vs. Spying on Trump Campaign Aides: Not "Spying On" as Trump and Barr Imply

Funny cartoon: But very serious topic nevertheless

This post is a follow up to my earlier post, same subject here.

THIS FROM WASHINGTON (The AP) — In a London bar three years ago, a young foreign policy adviser for Trump's campaign, George Papadopoulos, told an Australian diplomat something astonishing: “Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton.”

Within months, Papadopoulos, was proven right as stolen emails damaging to Clinton surfaced online by WikiLeaks. Alarmed, Australian officials tipped off their American counterparts.

For the FBI, the information was worrisome:

1.  How did Papadopoulos get advance word of the emails?

2. Was he or anyone else in the Trump campaign working with the Russians?

Those questions led to the Mueller Russian investigation that would shadow Trump's presidency for nearly two years.

Now Trump and his supporters have seized on the FBI's use of informants in Papadopoulos' case and surveillance of another campaign aide (Carter Page) to accuse the Justice Department and the FBI of unlawfully “spying” on his campaign.

Article continues here with more details.  I also note these two key points:

1 – WAS ANY OF THIS ILLEGAL?

Based on available public information, there's no evidence of illegal activity by the FBI or the Justice Department. The FBI routinely uses informants, also known as confidential sources, in a variety of investigations, from violent crimes to white-collar and counterintelligence investigations.

The FISA warrant the FBI obtained to monitor Page was lawfully obtained from a court in October 2016.

A memo released by House Republicans in 2018 showed that a judge agreed four times that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power. Top FBI and Justice Department officials, including Deputy AG, Rod Rosenstein, also signed off on the FISA application.

2 – WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

AG Barr has said he's compiled a team to look into the origins of the Russia investigation, a matter that is already being investigated by the department's Inspector General (IG).

In his testimony during a congressional budget hearing last month, Barr said he believes “spying” did occur on the campaign and suggested the origins of the probe may have been mishandled.

Barr provided no details about what “spying” may have taken place but appeared to be referring to Carter Page. Barr has said he doesn't see the word as pejorative and stopped short of saying anything unlawful or improper took place.

For his part, Trump has repeatedly accused the government of committing an illegal, unprecedented act. Senate Republicans have said they will also investigate the origins of the Russia investigation.

My 2 cents: Not much to add to his very fine AP rundown. Expect lots more from Trump as we move along the 2020 election timeline. His nasty mean-spiritedness will intense with time, bet on it.

What we see is raw revenge yet SOP for Republicans since the dawn of time and now Trump is singing that same tune.

Thanks for stopping by.