It's unclear what the attorney general meant by 'spying,' but one Republican senator suggested that, whether done so rightfully or wrongfully, the Obama administration was involved.
During his second consecutive day of testimony on Capitol Hill, Attorney General William Barr made new revelations that he believed “spying did occur” on the 2016 Trump campaign and that he would be investigating whether it was done so illegally. The claim prompted Republicans to say such a probe was long overdue while Democrats labeled it a “debunked conspiracy theory.”
“I think that there is enough smoke that there’s worth looking into,” Republican Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Intelligence Committee, told Newsweek. “But let me make it very clear, I think we needed the Mueller investigation, regardless.” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said he would not answer most questions because he said he needed to further review the attorney general’s remarks and the context surrounding them. Asked if he, through the course of his committee’s investigations, ever saw evidence to corroborate the spy allegations, the Republican told Newsweek: “He’s made an assessment. I’m not going to make an assessment on top of his assessment.
Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham delivers an opening statement with Sen. John Cornyn during Judge Neil Gorsuch's Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill March 20, 2017, in Washington, DC. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images “[Barr] knows there was ample evidence of Russian attempts to infiltrate the Trump campaign and that the FBI took lawful action to stop it,” Democratic Senator Mark Warner, ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, tweeted. “Giving a wink and a nod to this long-debunked ‘spying’ conspiracy theory is irresponsible. ”
Earlier Wednesday, Trump told reporters the entire Mueller investigation was"an attempted coup. This was an attempted takedown of a president and we beat them." The president added that he “knew how illegal this whole thing was: It was a scam."
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