The Department of Justice is planning to show senior lawmakers several highly-classified documents in an additional briefing on the FBI's use of a spy as part of a counterintelligence operation on the Trump campaign, Politico reports.
A senior DOJ official said that the so-called "Gang of Eight" will have an opportunity next Monday or Tuesday to review the additional documents which were not furnished during a high-level classified briefing in May.
"The Department and FBI are prepared to brief members on certain questions specifically raised by the Speaker and other members," the DOJ official said. "The Department will also provide the documents that were available for review but not inspected by the members at the previous briefing along with some additional material." -Politico
The group includes Reps Devin Nunes (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Mark Warner (D-VA), Paul Ryan (R-WI), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Paul Ryan and Trey Gowdy have notably said that the FBI's use of Halper to spy was appropriate, while President Trump has labeled the affair "spygate."
SPYGATE could be one of the biggest political scandals in history!
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) hit back on Fox News Wednesday evening, saying “There is no defense today for Paul Ryan siding with the FBI and Department of Justice against those of us in the Congress fighting for transparency and accountability.” "We need the speaker to be an institutionalist for the Congress, not to be a defender of the deep state," he added.
Heavy Spin
It's worth noting that Politico and seemingly every other mainstream organization seems to be trying to discredit or minimize "spygate" by suggesting that somehow Trump's original claim that the FBI "planted a spy within his ranks" is somehow less insidious than revelations that the spying was done through targeted espionage involving Trump campaign aides.
Politico writes:
Trump has railed against the FBI and accused it of planting a spy within his ranks for political purpose, though he's presented no evidence to support the claim, which he's labeled "spygate." -Politico
Except we're a little beyond that. The fact that Halper spied on the Trump campaign for the FBI is not in dispute - though a vicious argument over semantics has ensued. Halper's contacts with the campaign were revealed in March of this year in a much-overlooked report by the Daily Caller - which was corroborated by the New York Times and Washington Post in May.
Halper's infiltration of the Trump campaign also corresponds with the two of the four targets of the FBI's Operation Crossfire Hurricane.
Halper's involvement in spying on the Jimmy Carter campaign ahead of the 1980 US election has been well documented. (read more about Halper here)
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