President Donald Trump has rightfully argued that he was illegally spied on by the Obama Administration during his 2016 campaign. The President is stepping up these claims, now arguing that what the former administration did was treasonous.
“What they did was treasonous, OK? It was treasonous,” he said to author Doug Wead who is writing the upcoming book, “Inside Trump’s White House: The Real Story of His Presidency.”
“The interesting thing out of all of this is that we caught them spying on the election. They were spying on my campaign. So you know? What is that all about?” Trump said.
“I have never ever said this, but truth is, they got caught spying. They were spying,” the President said who then added, “Obama.”
Back in 2017, President Trump shockingly tweeted that the Obama Administration “had my wires tapped” in Trump Tower.
Later on, it appeared that the President may have been onto something which is why Attorney General William Barr is looking into whether “improper surveillance” occurred against President Trump. “I think spying did occur,” Barr said during a hearing.
“It turned out I was right. By the way,” Trump said to Wead. “In fact, what I said was peanuts compared to what they did. They were spying on my campaign. They got caught and they said, ‘Oh we were not spying. It was actually an investigation.’ Can you imagine an administration investigating its political opponents?” said the president.
The book also goes into President Trump’s feeling on the Russia investigation and how it impacted his presidency.
“Anybody else would be unable to function under the kind of pressure and distraction I had. They couldn’t get anything done. No other president should ever have to go through this. But understand, there was no collusion. They would have had to make something up,” he said.
Should Trump Launch An Investigation Into Robert Mueller?
Attorney General Barr is taking action to get to the bottom of the origins of the Russia investigation. The Department of Justice’s investigation into the origins of the Russia probe took a dramatic turn on Thursday when the investigation changed from an administrative review to an all out criminal investigation.
Now that the review is a criminal investigation, U.S. Attorney John Durham will now have “the power to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to impanel a grand jury and to file criminal charges.”
The New York Times made sure to portray the move as President Trump abusing his power by “using the Justice Department to go after his perceived enemies.”
“Mr. Barr’s reliance on Mr. Durham, a widely respected and veteran prosecutor who has investigated C.I.A. torture and broken up Mafia rings, could help insulate the attorney general from accusations that he is doing the president’s bidding and putting politics above justice,” The Times said.
For a Department of Justice review to become a criminal investigation, there must be a “reasonable indication” that a crime had been committed.
“Mr. Durham has indicated he wants to interview former officials who ran the C.I.A. in 2016 but has yet to question either Mr. Brennan or James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence,” The Times also noted. “Some C.I.A. officials have retained criminal lawyers in anticipation of being interviewed.”
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
