2016 ELECTION/FBI/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump suggested Friday [5-25-18] that an FBI informant who made contact with his campaign during the 2016 election was ‘paid a fortune,’ boosting the unsubstantiated allegation a ‘spy’ was implanted in his campaign for political purposes…Trump over the past week has hammered officials in the Department of Justice over the revelation an informant was used to make contact with his campaign team as part of the FBI’s investigation into Russian election meddling in 2016. Trump tweeted Wednesday [5-23-18] that ‘SPYGATE could be one of the biggest political scandals in history!’ Democratic officials have pushed back on allegations that the FBI’s use of an informant constitutes spying on the Trump campaign, as the president and his allies have alleged. White House chief of staff John Kelly attended two briefings at the DOJ on Thursday [5-24-18] regarding the FBI informant. The presence of White House officials at the summits, scheduled to allow lawmakers to review classified materials about the federal probes into Russian meddling, drew sharp rebukes from Democratic officials.”
-Cristiano Lima, “Trump again pushes claim FBI informant planted for political purposes,” Politico, May 25, 2018 8:30 am