Former intelligence chief James Clapper on Wednesday shot back at President Trump for creating a “distortion” of what he said about the intelligence community and the president’s 2016 campaign.
Earlier in the day, Trump said Clapper “sort of admitted” the intelligence community spied on his campaign after it was revealed an FBI informant met with several members of the Trump campaign.
In speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper, Clapper, who was formerly director of national intelligence, rebuked the president, asserting that the intelligence community did not spy on Trump or his campaign.
“No, we did not. And that is — that is a distortion of what I said. In fact, I had an aversion to the use of the term and thought I made that clear,” Clapper told Tapper.
Clapper said that the intelligence community was trying to determine if the Russians were seeking to gain access or infiltrate a campaign, noting that it didn’t matter which campaign. “And it had nothing to do with spying on the campaign, it was about the Russians which is what we should all be concerned about, to include Trump,” Clapper added.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump misquoted Clapper on the topic early Wednesday morning.
“Trump should be happy that the FBI was SPYING on his campaign” No, James Clapper, I am not happy,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. “Spying on a campaign would be illegal, and a scandal to boot!”
“Trump should be happy that the FBI was SPYING on his campaign” No, James Clapper, I am not happy. Spying on a campaign would be illegal, and a scandal to boot!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2018
Trump’s tweet referred to Clapper’s Tuesday appearance on “The View,” where he used the word “spy” to indicate that there was intelligence being unearthed concerning Russian meddling.
When asked if the FBI had been “spying” on Trump’s campaign, Clapper said they “were spying on, a term I don’t particularly like, but on what the Russians were doing.”
Joy Behar, a co-host of “The View,” then asked,” Well why doesn’t he like that? He should be happy.”
“He should be. I mean, Russia — it’s one of the reasons I wrote my book, was the threat Russia poses because they are bent on undermining our system,” Clapper said. “And that’s what they did, and had a lot of success during the course of the election.”
Multiple media reports have identified an American who worked at Cambridge University as an FBI source who met with three Trump campaign staffers, including campaign advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, and campaign co-chair Sam Clovis.
The Justice Department inspector general is looking into whether there were any irregularities in surveillance tactics that were used on Trump associates during the 2016 election.
