President Trump suggested on Saturday that the Justice Department should release documents related to a top-secret FBI informant who met with members of his campaign during the 2016 presidential election.
In a tweet, Trump said it would be a “really big deal” if the FBI and Justice Department (DOJ) infiltrated his campaign for political purposes, stating that only the release of DOJ documents would provide “conclusive answers.”
“If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal,” he tweeted. “Only the release or review of documents that the House Intelligence Committee (also, Senate Judiciary) is asking for can give the conclusive answers. Drain the Swamp!”
The tweet comes as some GOP lawmakers and Trump allies seek to expose the role of an informant who met with at least three campaign advisers to the then-presidential candidate in 2016.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that the informant, identified as an American academic, met with George Papadopoulos, Sam Clovis and Carter Page during the presidential race.
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Trump’s allies and some congressional Republicans have raised alarm over the informant’s role in the origins of the investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties with Russia. Some have suggested that the FBI inappropriately planted a mole within the campaign to spy on Trump and his associates.
Trump suggested in another tweet on Thursday that, if the Obama administration sought to spy on his campaign, it would be “bigger than Watergate,” a reference to the scandal that led to former President Nixon’s resignation.
There is no evidence that the informant was intentionally planted to spy on the campaign.
Earlier this month, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a staunch Trump ally, subpoenaed the Justice Department for all documents related to the top-secret informant.
The Justice Department has refused to provide those records, citing concerns that releasing them could endanger the informant and his associates.