Rep. Mark Meadows says it is "no coincidence" the New York Times reported on Thursday the FBI sent an undercover investigator to meet with a Trump campaign adviser during the 2016 election.

These "leaks" show the FBI feels threatened by an investigation by Attorney General William Barr into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, the North Carolina Republican said in a tweet.

"Incredible. Now confirmed: 'FBI Sent Investigator Posing as Assistant to Meet With Trump Aide in 2016,'" Meadows said, quoting the headline of the Times report.

"It’s absolutely not a coincidence that these leaks are coming out now. The FBI knows Bill Barr is investigating. The IG report is coming. They’re worried. We’re getting closer," he added.

Incredible. Now confirmed: “FBI Sent Investigator Posing as Assistant to Meet With Trump Aide in 2016”



It’s absolutely not a coincidence that these leaks are coming out now. The FBI knows Bill Barr is investigating. The IG report is coming. They’re worried. We’re getting closer. https://t.co/dKfkkNzUap — Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) May 2, 2019

Meadows, a member of the House Oversight Committee, has been a leading GOP investigator examining alleged bias within the upper levels of the Justice Department and FBI. Last month he predicted a wave of criminal referrals to be sent to the Justice Department based on Inspector General Michael Horowitz's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse investigation, which is expected to wrap up in the coming weeks.

The Times report revealed that a woman who said her name was Azra Turk posed as an assistant to Stefan Halper, an American professor at Cambridge University and informant for the FBI looking into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Turk asked Papadopoulos point blank if Trump's campaign was working with the Russians at a bar in London in September 2016.

In reaction to the article by the Times, Papadopoulos insisted that Turk was not working for the FBI. "I agree with everything in this superb article except 'Azra Turk' clearly was not FBI. She was CIA and affiliated with Turkish intel. She could hardly speak English and was tasked to meet me about my work in the energy sector offshore Israel/Cyprus which Turkey was competing with," he wrote in a tweet.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty in October 2017 to making false statements to the FBI about his contacts with Russians and served 12 days in prison late last year. He agreed to cooperate with the Russia investigation conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller, who recently wrapped up and found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

Barr says he is "reviewing the conduct" of the FBI's initial investigation into the Trump campaign in the summer of 2016. He sparked an uproar among Democrats last month when he said "spying did occur" on the Trump team. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who insists there is "evidence in plain sight" of collusion, called Barr's spy remark "another destructive blow to our democratic institutions."

Responding to Meadows' tweet on Thursday another Republican, Rep. Jody Hice, chastised the Democrats for their efforts to impugn Barr.

"And the Left thought Bill Barr was crazy for using the word 'spying.' Looks like he hit the nail right on the head," the Georgia congressman said. "Can’t wait to hear Adam Schiff & his circus try to explain this. Or the IG report. Or what Barr’s investigation exposes. The truth is finally coming out."