Former CIA Director Michael Hayden on Sunday said President Trump is spreading misinformation about alleged attacks on his campaign and administration in an effort to solicit empathy from the public amid special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia collusion investigation.
"He is simply trying to delegitimatize the Mueller investigation, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and he is willing to throw almost anything against the wall," Hayden told Martha Raddatz, guest host of ABC's "This Week."
"Martha, this is part of a stream. Remember wiretapping Trump Tower, unmasking U.S. identities, FISA applications that were abused and now we have this. All of those are wrong. All of those are incorrect. All of those are stunningly normal in the development of intelligence and law enforcement," Hayden added. "But you know what? I talked to a lot of people in the country, and for a lot of people in the country, one or another or many of those things have already stuck."
Recent reports have revealed that the FBI secretly sent an informant to contact members of his 2016 presidential campaign. In response, Trump has raised the alarm about a potential nefarious plot by the feds to plant a spy in his team for political purposes.
Hayden, who served during Bill Clinton and George W. Bush's presidencies, said it would have been normal for intelligence agencies to carry out operations in the campaign if it was concerned about the actions of specific individuals employed by Trump.
"From the outside looking in, on the surface from everything I know, everyone has handled this just about the way it should have been handled," Hayden said.
The informant, identified by media reports as Stefan Halper, made contact campaign advisers Carter Page, Sam Clovis, and George Papadopoulos, all three of whom had ties to Russia. Russian interference in the election and possible collusion is the subject of investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Hayden said that while Russian entities did attempt to affect the U.S. presidential election in 2016, the extent to which they had an effect on it will never be quantified. He also said the public should focus on what can be learned, not what cannot be determined.
"I agree that the Russians affected the election, but how much they affected is not just unknown, It is unknowable and so we should stop talking about it. Donald Trump is the president," Hayden finished.
