CNN’s Anderson Cooper dismissed the notion top FBI officials worked to take down President Trump as a “massive conspiracy theory” during an interview with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

“Do you believe that’s what happened here, that there’s some sort of cabal at the top echelon of the FBI? Is that what you’re alleging?” Cooper asked Gaetz on Monday.

“I think we need to look into that question,” Gaetz replied, adding the text messages between FBI investigator Peter Strzok and his lover Lisa Page were evidence to that claim.

“This is similar to the argument you used to make about a secret society, which was referenced in one of those text messages as well,” Cooper said.

Gaetz conceded that a “formal incarnation” of a secret society may not exist but insisted a “very informal cabal” within the FBI working to undermine President Trump may have some degree of truth behind it.

“There are still messages we haven’t seen, I think that before drawing those conclusions, we should have a full redaction of the text messages, there are over 1.2 million records the judiciary committee has requested. We’ve received about 3,000 of those records. So I think there’s a lot more investigating to do and it may very well be that you had an informal cabal functioning in secret with a societal goal of hurting President Trump without any evidence,” he said.

“That, that sounds like a massive conspiracy theory,” Cooper said.

“It may have been a massive conspiracy at play,” Gaetz retorted. “That’s why we want a Special Counsel to look at these things.”

“Look, when you’ve got the FBI saying that you, that it’s wise to go and fire Mr. McCabe, who is one of the senior officials at the FBI, you have got sufficient smoke to believe that there is fire that exists. And that’s why we’re asking the tough questions, it’s why we want to have an independent review of the activities of the FBI and Department of Justice, in the FISA process, in the Clinton foundation and the Clinton e-mail scandals.”

“And I think that Mr. McCabe’s firing validates many of the concerns that I’ve raised along with many of my colleagues,” he added.

The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!