Attorney General William Barr said he wants to probe alleged FBI "spying" into President Trump's 2016 campaign. FBI Director Chris Wray isn't sure why.
In his Senate testimony last week, Barr said "spying" into the Trump campaign "did occur," and that he wanted to ensure it was "adequately predicated." But House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) quickly said Barr's "comments directly contradict what the Department of Justice previously told us." James Comey, who led the FBI during the 2016 election, more expressly said "I don't know what the heck [Barr is] talking about."
Now, Wray has joined the fray. The current FBI director testified before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, where Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) asked Wray if he considered it to be "spying" when agents surveil people while "following FBI investigative policies and procedures." Wray said "that's not the term I would use," but didn't give a flat-out no.
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Shaheen also asked if Wray had "any evidence that any illegal surveillance into the campaigns ... occurred," to which Wray said "I don't think I personally have any evidence of that sort." As CNN's Jim Sciutto put it, that "raises the question" of just "what exactly is AG Barr now investigating?"
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