Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday said he believes the FBI spied on President Trump's 2016 campaign.
Barr while testifying before Congress was questioned about reports that he'll be launching an investigation into the origins of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. Asked why he feels the need to do so, Barr said it's because he thinks "spying on a political campaign is a big deal."
When Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) asked if he's suggesting spying on the campaign occurred, Barr responded that yes, he "think[s] spying did occur." He said he hopes to get to the bottom of whether this surveillance was "predicated," although he's "not suggesting that it wasn't."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly claimed that law enforcement improperly obtained a FISA warrant to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The warrant was obtained after Page left the Trump campaign, notes Politico's Kyle Cheney. Barr said Wednesday he believes there was "probably a failure among a group of leaders there in the upper echelon" and that he is not blaming the FBI as a whole, per The Washington Post.
Later, when asked to clarify what he means by spying, Barr said he's talking about "unauthorized surveillance," which The Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand observes may suggest he's "not talking about FISA warrants," since those are court-authorized. Barr also said he has "no specific evidence that I can cite right now" about wrongdoing by the FBI, per CNN's Manu Raju, but that "there is a basis for my concern." Brendan Morrow
-
The return to the stone age in house buildingUnder the Radar With brick building becoming ‘increasingly unsustainable’, could a reversion to stone be the future?
-
Rob Jetten: the centrist millennial set to be the Netherlands’ next prime ministerIn the Spotlight Jetten will also be the country’s first gay leader
-
Codeword: November 4, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
