President Trump on Tuesday asked why an FBI source who met with some members of his 2016 campaign was paid by the government, arguing the informant was “there to spy for political purposes.”

“If the person placed very early into my campaign wasn’t a SPY put there by the previous Administration for political purposes, how come such a seemingly massive amount of money was paid for services rendered - many times higher than normal,” Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

“...Follow the money!” Trump continued in a separate tweet. “The spy was there early in the campaign and yet never reported Collusion with Russia, because there was no Collusion. He was only there to spy for political reasons and to help Crooked Hillary win - just like they did to Bernie Sanders, who got duped!”



If the person placed very early into my campaign wasn’t a SPY put there by the previous Administration for political purposes, how come such a seemingly massive amount of money was paid for services rendered - many times higher than normal... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2018

...Follow the money! The spy was there early in the campaign and yet never reported Collusion with Russia, because there was no Collusion. He was only there to spy for political reasons and to help Crooked Hillary win - just like they did to Bernie Sanders, who got duped! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2018



The comments come as multiple media reports identified Stefan Halper, an American who worked at Cambridge University, as an FBI source who met with three Trump campaign staffers, including campaign advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, and campaign co-chair Sam Clovis.

Several news outlets also reported Halper was paid more than $1 million by the Department of Defense for work he conducted for a Pentagon think tank called the Office of Net Assessment from 2012 to 2018, according to public records.

The Daily Caller reported in 2017 that DOD's acting inspector general Glenn Fine launched a "Whistleblower Reprisal Investigation" in September. The probe was designed to investigate accusations that James Baker, ONA's director, retaliated against a senior ONA official who raised concerns about deals with outside contractors, one whom Chelsea Clinton had called her “best friend.”

Trump urged the Justice Department on Sunday to launch a probe into whether the “FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders revealed Monday the Justice Department “has asked the inspector general to expand its current investigation to include any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s or the Department of Justice’s tactics concerning the Trump Campaign.”