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Donald Trump orders probe into FBI 'election spying'

President Trump has called for an investigation into 'FBI infiltration' of his 2016 presidential campaign: White House
President Trump has called for an investigation into 'FBI infiltration' of his 2016 presidential campaign: White House

Donald Trump raised the stakes in his feud with the US Justice Department today by demanding an investigation into whether the FBI spied on his election campaign for political reasons.

He wants to know if a secret FBI informant based in England was used improperly by federal agents investigating alleged ties between Russia and members of his inner circle.

His demand came after it emerged that the source — a retired university professor living in the UK — had met three Trump campaign aides.

But the president’s opponents accused him of trying to deflect attention from embarrassing revelations surrounding the Russia probe. They warned his demand would damage the independence of criminal investigations and even put the life of informants at risk.

Responding to Mr Trump, the Justice Department said Inspector General Michael E Horowitz would expand an ongoing internal review to determine “whether there was any impropriety or political motivation” in the counter-intelligence investigation that began during the 2016 election race. “If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action,” said deputy attorney-general Rod Rosenstein.

Yesterday Mr Trump had tweeted: “I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes — and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!”

Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said Mr Trump’s “‘demand’ that DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems. Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesn’t care.”

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating alleged collusion between Russia and Mr Trump’s election campaign, which the president denies. The New York Times reported that an intelligence source who was “an American academic who teaches in Britain” interacted with campaign advisers George Papadopoulos and Carter Page. Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Russia probe.

The Washington Post reported the source also met Sam Clovis, Mr Trump campaign’s co-chairman.

The FBI informant is known to have also worked with the CIA. The use of a confidential source is common in criminal investigations.

But Devin Nunes, Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee told Fox News: “If they ran a spy ring or an informant ring, and they were paying people within the Trump campaign ... that is an absolute red line.” The White House had no comment on Mr Trump’s demand for an investigation.

Meanwhile the president’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed Mr Mueller was planning to finish his inquiries by September 1. The former New York mayor said waiting any longer risked improperly influencing voters in November’s mid-term elections.

Mr Giuliani said Mr Mueller recently shared a timetable suggesting his probe could end by September 1 if Mr Trump were to sit for an interview in July.