| Revision as of 21:30, 2 June 2018 view sourceNeutrality (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Administrators165,433 edits absolutely not a reliable source← Previous edit | Revision as of 22:00, 2 June 2018 view source Dave Dial (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers13,119 edits →Background: If Nunes and Rice are going to be mentioned in this, it has to be NPOV and better explained, this entry is absurd and carries innuendos that aren't there, exactly what Nunes wantedNext edit → | ||
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| According to ], around July to August 2016, after Donald Trump had become the Republican nominee for president during the 2016 presidential election, the ] (FBI) "briefed and warned" Trump that foreign adversaries, which included Russia, would probably attempt to spy on and infiltrate his campaign. Trump was told to alert the FBI of any suspicious activity. White House spokesman ] acknowledged that "the Republican and Democrat nominee for president received a standardized briefing on counterintelligence" and said that NBC News learnt "about the contents of this classified conversation due to an inappropriate leak".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dilanian |first1=Ken |last2=Ainsley |first2=Julia |last3=Lee |first3=Carol |title=FBI warned Trump in 2016 Russians would try to infiltrate his campaign |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-warned-trump-2016-russians-would-try-infiltrate-his-campaign-n830596 |publisher=] |accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> In May 2018, Trump questioned "why didn’t the crooked highest levels of the FBI or “Justice” contact me to tell me of the phony Russia problem?"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Greenwood |first1=Max |title=Trump: Why didn't FBI tell me about 'phony Russia problem' during campaign |url=http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/389523-trump-why-didnt-fbi-tell-me-about-phone-russia-problem-during |publisher=] |accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> | According to ], around July to August 2016, after Donald Trump had become the Republican nominee for president during the 2016 presidential election, the ] (FBI) "briefed and warned" Trump that foreign adversaries, which included Russia, would probably attempt to spy on and infiltrate his campaign. Trump was told to alert the FBI of any suspicious activity. White House spokesman ] acknowledged that "the Republican and Democrat nominee for president received a standardized briefing on counterintelligence" and said that NBC News learnt "about the contents of this classified conversation due to an inappropriate leak".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dilanian |first1=Ken |last2=Ainsley |first2=Julia |last3=Lee |first3=Carol |title=FBI warned Trump in 2016 Russians would try to infiltrate his campaign |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-warned-trump-2016-russians-would-try-infiltrate-his-campaign-n830596 |publisher=] |accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> In May 2018, Trump questioned "why didn’t the crooked highest levels of the FBI or “Justice” contact me to tell me of the phony Russia problem?"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Greenwood |first1=Max |title=Trump: Why didn't FBI tell me about 'phony Russia problem' during campaign |url=http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/389523-trump-why-didnt-fbi-tell-me-about-phone-russia-problem-during |publisher=] |accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> | ||
| On March 22, 2017 ] gave a press conference and said "I recently confirmed that on numerous occasions, the intelligence community incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition. Details about persons associated with the incoming administration, details with little apparent foreign intelligence value were widely disseminated in intelligence community reporting. Third, I have confirmed that additional names of Trump transition team members were unmasked. And forth and finally, I want to be clear, none of this surveillance was related to Russia, or the investigation of Russian activities, or of the Trump team."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/national/read-transcripts-rep-devin-nunes-news-conferences-about-trump-surveillance/NdZ4qQv7uBnjcH9E3HSRPJ/|title=Read transcripts of Rep. Devin Nunes’ news conferences about Trump surveillance|work=ajc|access-date=2018-06-02}}</ref>{{Relevance inline|paragraph|discuss=Removal of stuff from the background}} ] went on PBS on March 22, 2017 and gave an interview and claimed that she "knew nothing" about the unmasking of Trump campaign officials.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/susan-rice-world-wonders-worries-white-house-can-trusted|title=Susan Rice: The world wonders and worries if the White House can be trusted|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-US|access-date=2018-06-02}}</ref>{{Relevance inline|paragraph|discuss=Removal of stuff from the background}} Months later on September 18, 2017 CNN reported that Susan Rice testified to the House Intelligence Committee that she had indeed unmasked Trump campaign officials.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/13/politics/susan-rice-house-investigators-unmasked-trump-officials/|title=Exclusive: Rice on unmasking Trump officials|last=Correspondent|first=Manu Raju, Senior Congressional|work=CNN|access-date=2018-06-02}}</ref> {{Relevance inline|paragraph|discuss=Removal of stuff from the background}} | |||
| On May 16, 2018, '']'' reported the existence of a 2016 FBI investigation called Crossfire Hurricane, which investigated whether individuals within the Trump campaign had links to Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election. Four individuals, Michael T. Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, were initially investigated due to obvious or suspected Russian ties.<ref name=NYT2>{{cite web |last1=Apuzzo |first1=Matt |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |last3=Fandos |first3=Nicholas |title=Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/us/politics/crossfire-hurricane-trump-russia-fbi-mueller-investigation.html |publisher=] |accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> During the investigation, the FBI "obtained phone records and other documents using ], a secret type of subpoena".<ref name=NYT2/> In addition, a Title-I FISA warrant was taken out on Trump campaign official Carter Page which allowed ongoing and retroactive surveillance on anyone within "2 hops" of Carter Page. 2 hops means anyone Carter Page contacted as well as anyone who talked to any of Carter Pages' contacts was caught up in the FISA surveillance dragnet.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/us/politics/carter-page-fisa-warrant-russia-trump.html|title=Court Approved Wiretap on Trump Campaign Aide Over Russia Ties|date=2017-04-12|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-06-02|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=207195207|title=With 3 'Hops,' NSA Gets Millions Of Phone Records|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-06-02|language=en}}</ref> | On May 16, 2018, '']'' reported the existence of a 2016 FBI investigation called Crossfire Hurricane, which investigated whether individuals within the Trump campaign had links to Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election. Four individuals, Michael T. Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, were initially investigated due to obvious or suspected Russian ties.<ref name=NYT2>{{cite web |last1=Apuzzo |first1=Matt |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |last3=Fandos |first3=Nicholas |title=Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/us/politics/crossfire-hurricane-trump-russia-fbi-mueller-investigation.html |publisher=] |accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> During the investigation, the FBI "obtained phone records and other documents using ], a secret type of subpoena".<ref name=NYT2/> In addition, a Title-I FISA warrant was taken out on Trump campaign official Carter Page which allowed ongoing and retroactive surveillance on anyone within "2 hops" of Carter Page. 2 hops means anyone Carter Page contacted as well as anyone who talked to any of Carter Pages' contacts was caught up in the FISA surveillance dragnet.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/us/politics/carter-page-fisa-warrant-russia-trump.html|title=Court Approved Wiretap on Trump Campaign Aide Over Russia Ties|date=2017-04-12|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-06-02|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=207195207|title=With 3 'Hops,' NSA Gets Millions Of Phone Records|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-06-02|language=en}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 22:00, 2 June 2018
Spygate is a conspiracy theory developed and popularized by the United States president Donald Trump. The theory appears to have no basis in fact.
Background
According to NBC News, around July to August 2016, after Donald Trump had become the Republican nominee for president during the 2016 presidential election, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "briefed and warned" Trump that foreign adversaries, which included Russia, would probably attempt to spy on and infiltrate his campaign. Trump was told to alert the FBI of any suspicious activity. White House spokesman Raj Shah acknowledged that "the Republican and Democrat nominee for president received a standardized briefing on counterintelligence" and said that NBC News learnt "about the contents of this classified conversation due to an inappropriate leak". In May 2018, Trump questioned "why didn’t the crooked highest levels of the FBI or “Justice” contact me to tell me of the phony Russia problem?"
On May 16, 2018, The New York Times reported the existence of a 2016 FBI investigation called Crossfire Hurricane, which investigated whether individuals within the Trump campaign had links to Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election. Four individuals, Michael T. Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, were initially investigated due to obvious or suspected Russian ties. During the investigation, the FBI "obtained phone records and other documents using national security letters, a secret type of subpoena". In addition, a Title-I FISA warrant was taken out on Trump campaign official Carter Page which allowed ongoing and retroactive surveillance on anyone within "2 hops" of Carter Page. 2 hops means anyone Carter Page contacted as well as anyone who talked to any of Carter Pages' contacts was caught up in the FISA surveillance dragnet.
On May 17, 2018, Trump quoted National Review columnist Andrew C. McCarthy, who had said: "There's probably no doubt that had at least one confidential informant in the campaign". From that quote, Trump described that "word seems to be coming out that the Obama FBI SPIED ON THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN ... If so, this is bigger than Watergate!"
Although an FBI informant, Stefan Halper, spoke separately to three Trump campaign advisers (Carter Page, Sam Clovis and George Papadopoulos) in 2016, there is no evidence that Halper was actually part of Trump’s campaign. The Associated Press reported that Trump privately said that he wanted "to brand" the informant as a "spy" as using a more nefarious term would supposedly resonate more with the public.
Trump's allegations
On May 22, 2018, Trump expanded on McCarthy's theory, alleging that the Barack Obama administration had paid to plant a spy inside the 2016 Trump presidential campaign "very early on" to assist Trump's rival, Hilary Clinton, win the 2016 US presidential campaign. From May 23, 2018, Trump began to describe his allegations as Spygate.
Despite claiming that Spygate "could be one of the biggest political scandals in history", Trump has not offered any evidence when asked for it, instead saying, "All you have to do is look at the basics and you'll see it."
Trump also published a false quote attributed to James Clapper that "Trump should be happy that the FBI was SPYING on his campaign". Instead, when asked "was the FBI spying on Trump’s campaign", Clapper had said, "No, they were not." What Clapper really said Trump should have been happy about was that the FBI was investigating “what the Russians were doing” and "were the Russians infiltrating" his campaign and trying to influence the election.
Trump has said that Halper, the FBI informant, was paid a "massive amount of money", and concluded that he thus must be a spy implanted for "political purposes". However, the $1 million in contracts were signed between Halper and the Defense Department’s Office of Net Assessment between 2012 to 2016, with 40% of the money awarded before Trump announced his candidacy in 2015. It is unknown if the FBI paid Halper at all.
Reactions and criticism
Trey Gowdy, the Republican chairman of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said after a classified meeting with Department of Justice officials that "the FBI is doing what told them to do ... I am 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 Donald Trump". Republican senator Jeff Flake has said that the "so-called Spygate" is a "diversion tactic, obviously", while Democratic Represenative Adam Schiff has said that Spygate is a "piece of propaganda the president wants to put out and repeat".
Republican senator Marco Rubio said that "it appears that there was an investigation not of the campaign but of certain individuals who have a history that we should be suspicious of that predate the presidential campaign of 2015, 2016". Michael Hayden, a retired general, former Director of the National Security Agency and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said that Trump, through Spygate, was "simply trying to delegitimize the Mueller investigation, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and he’s willing to throw almost anything against the wall".
Asked on whether the promotion of the Spygate theory is meant to discredit the special counsel investigation, Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said that the investigators "are giving us the material to do it. Of course, we have to do it in defending the president ... it is for public opinion" on whether to "impeach or not impeach" Trump.
Journalist Shepard Smith has said that of Spygate that "Fox News can confirm that it is not" true; "Fox News knows of no evidence to support the president's claim. Lawmakers from both parties say using an informant to investigate is not spying. It’s part of the normal investigative process." Legal analyst Andrew Napolitano concurred in telling Fox News that the FBI's usage of an informant was being done "all the time" and thus "stunningly unremarkable".
Jon Meacham, a presidential historian, has said, in regards to Spygate, "The effect on the life of the nation of a president inventing conspiracy theories in order to distract attention from legitimate investigations or other things he dislikes is corrosive".
References
- ^ Davis, Julie; Haberman, Maggie. "With 'Spygate,' Trump Shows How He Uses Conspiracy Theories to Erode Trust". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- Aaronson, Trevor. "The FBI's use of informants is full of problems, but what happened in "Spygate" isn't one of them". The Intercept. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Sollenberger, Roger. "The Short, Sad Life of SPYGATE!: Trump's Latest Conspiracy Theory Got Debunked By Evidence in A Matter of Hours". Paste. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ Bump, Philip. "There is no evidence for 'Spygate' — but there is a reason Trump invented it". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Beauchamp, Zack. ""Spygate," the false allegation that the FBI had a spy in the Trump campaign, explained". Vox. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Darcy, James. "'Spygate' is just latest Trump lie: Darcy cartoon". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Dilanian, Ken; Ainsley, Julia; Lee, Carol. "FBI warned Trump in 2016 Russians would try to infiltrate his campaign". NBC News. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Greenwood, Max. "Trump: Why didn't FBI tell me about 'phony Russia problem' during campaign". The Hill. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ Apuzzo, Matt; Goldman, Adam; Fandos, Nicholas. "Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- "Court Approved Wiretap on Trump Campaign Aide Over Russia Ties". The New York Times. 2017-04-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
- "With 3 'Hops,' NSA Gets Millions Of Phone Records". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
- Manchester, Julia. "Trump: Report that Obama FBI spied on campaign could be 'bigger than Watergate'". The Hill. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Costa, Robert; Leonnig, Carol; Hamburger, Tom; Barrett, Devlin. "Secret FBI source for Russia investigation met with three Trump advisers during campaign". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- Jalonick, Mary; Lemire, Jonathan. "Seething over Russia probe, Trump tears into 'spygate'". Associated Press. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Tatum, Sophie. "Carter Page: I 'never found anything unusual' in conversations with FBI source". CNN. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- DeCosta-Klipa, Nik. "This Donald Trump tweet might have caused some confusion for Patriots fans". Boston.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- "Trump: 'SPYGATE' a scandal 'the likes of which this country may never have seen before'". CNBC. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Fishel, Justin; Karson, Kendall; Khan, Mariam. "Trump claims 'you'll see it' when asked for proof of alleged 'spying' scandal". ABC News. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Kiely, Eugene. "Trump Misquotes Clapper on FBI 'Spy'". FactCheck.org. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Greenberg, Jon. "Online story gets details wrong about informant payment in Trump Russia probe". Politifact. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Correll, Diana. "Trump questions why FBI informant received payments from government". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- MacCallum, Martha. "Gowdy on Trump's Spy Claims: I'm 'Convinced' FBI Did What Americans Would Want Them to Do". Fox News. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- "Trump's 'Spygate' is a 'diversion tactic': Senator Flake". Reuters. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- Boedeker, Hal. "Rubio: FBI didn't investigate Trump campaign". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- Bach, Natasha (May 28, 2018). "'It Is for Public Opinion.' Rudy Giuliani May Have Admitted That Trump's 'Spygate' Is a PR Ploy". Fortune. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- Bort, Ryan. "Even Conservatives Are Realizing Trump's 'Spygate' Conspiracy Is a Hoax". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- "Judge Nap: Giuliani Shouldn't Make 'Outlandish & Outrageous' Spy Allegations Without Evidence". Fox News. Retrieved 1 June 2018.