Barr says he believes spying on the Trump campaign 'did occur'


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."
Subscribe to 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
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, change
Speed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.