There is a great deal we don’t know about the case of Stefan Halper, the Anglo-American academic who insinuated himself into the Trump campaign in order to help the FBI learn about any connections to Russian election meddling. The president and his allies claim the FBI planted Halper as a spy with the goal of undermining Trump’s candidacy. Trump’s critics argue that the bureau was already investigating meddling in the election and so it was proper to find out if campaign officials were dupes for Russian manipulators.

It would be extraordinary that FBI officials would sign off on the surveillance of a U.S. presidential campaign. Political campaigning is a sacred activity in our republic, and the chances of catastrophe resulting from agents of the government investigating a presidential campaign are enormous. But we have a high regard for the men and women who serve in law enforcement and believe they’ve earned the presumption of good faith. We can assume the FBI had reason to believe Russian operatives were using Trump campaign officials for nefarious purposes and had more than sufficient reason to seek out the operatives and identify their aims.