Trump Rips FBI Director Over Denial That Agency Spied on His Campaign: ‘A Ridiculous Answer’

Trump Rips FBI Director Over Denial That Agency Spied on His Campaign: ‘A Ridiculous Answer’

Is it FBI Director Christopher Wray’s turn in the barrel?

Predsident Trump told reporters on the White House lawn Tuesday morning that he thought Wray’s dismissal of the idea the FBI spied on Trump’s presidential campaign was “ridiculous.”

Wray had distanced the FBI from the charge during a Senate hearing a week ago. Asked by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) if he agreed with Attorney General Bill Barr’s use of the word “spying” to describe counterintelligence surveillance of Trump associates suspected of having inappropriate contact with possible Russian agents, Wray responded, “That’s not the term I would use.”

As Shaheen noted at the time, Barr had been criticized for using such a “loaded word” to describe what would have been routine behavior for agents undertaking a counterintelligence investigation.

Asked by a reporter if he still has confidence in Wray, Trump said, “I didn’t understand his answer because I thought the attorney general answered it perfectly. So I certainly didn’t understand that answer, I thought it was a ridiculous answer.”

Trump also spent this short press gaggle calling the trade war with China “a little squabble,” bragging about the economy, repeating his belief that Robert Mueller exonerated him on the question of whether he colluded with Russia in 2016 and complaining that Mueller’s investigators were all angry Hillary Clinton supporters. He also claimed that a New York Times report that the administration has a plan to send 120,000 troop to the Middle East to threaten Iran was “fake news,” right before he said he “absolutely” would send them.

Watch the video up top, via CNN.

Gary Legum

Gary Legum has written about politics and culture for Independent Journal Review, Salon, The Daily Beast, Wonkette, AlterNet and McSweeney's, among others. He currently lives in his native state of Virginia.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *