[The Hill] Former CIA operative and current congressional candidate Valerie Plame said Monday that FBI surveillance of President Trump's 2016 campaign was not spying.
"I absolutely do not [believe spying occurred]. These are professionals in our intelligence community, both in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and in the CIA. I have to believe that what happened was that there was real cause. And the bar is extremely high to collect information, particularly on a U.S. citizen," Plame, a Democrat running for a House seat in New Mexico, said on CNN's "New Day."
During congressional testimony last month, Attorney General William Barr called the FBI’s surveillance of members of Trump's 2016 campaign "spying." Trump has also used the term.
The Justice Department's inspector general is now reviewing whether the FBI followed correct procedures in applying for a warrant to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Republicans have said the FBI improperly relied on details from the dossier compiled by ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele when applying for the warrant.
"So I don't know all the details of what led to that, but I think Attorney General Barr's rather casual assessment that the FBI spied on candidate Trump is a little too loose with the facts," she continued.
Fairly extensive BIO on Plame found at this link. |