Justice Department FBI's Wray: Spying is 'not the term I would use' to describe Trump campaign probe

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday he wouldn't use the word "spying" to describe the bureau's investigative work, breaking from Attorney General William Barr's use of the term in reference to the probe of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.

"Well, it's not the term I would use. Lots of people have different colloquial phrases," Wray said during testimony on the FBI's budget for 2020. "I believe that the FBI is engaged in investigative activity, and part of investigative activity includes surveillance.”


Wray’s appearance before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee comes as several Senate Republicans have called for further investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email server and its opening of a counterintelligence investigation into then-candidate Trump’s campaign. But Wray defended the bureau's work and its career employees.

Trump has claimed the FBI "spied" on his campaign and that subsequent investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including by special counsel Robert Mueller, were part of an "attempted coup" against him.

Barr mirrored that language when he testified before Congress in April.

“Spying on a political campaign is a big deal,” Barr told members of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee during a hearing about the Justice Department’s budget. “I think spying did occur. The question is whether it was adequately predicated. And I’m not suggesting that it wasn’t adequately predicated. But I need to explore that.”

Wray said the FBI went through the proper channels in relation to the 2016 surveillance, adding that it's been "publicly disclosed there were a number of relevant warrants." He also said the FBI was working to help Barr "understand better" how the investigation was launched.

The FBI director said the bureau has taken steps to improve in light of an inspector general report related to the Clinton investigation and defended the work of the FBI’s career employees.

“I think it is important for the American people to understand ... that we’re talking about two investigations, two investigations over about a 15-month period as opposed to the thousands and thousands of investigations the FBI does to keep Americans safe,” he said.

Wray described the FBI employees as “brave” and said they “deserve better than some of the commentary that’s been out there.

In addition to defending the work of the FBI, Wray emphasized that Russian interference in U.S. elections remains a persistent threat and noted that the FBI has asked for more resources in its budget request to address the threat of foreign influence.

“We view our adversary, in particular Russia in this context, as upping its game,” he said.

Wray noted that the FBI better mitigated foreign influence in the 2018 election, compared to the 2016 election, by doing more to coordinate with social media companies to flag Russian-controlled bots from spreading incorrect information. He added that during the 2018 election, the companies also provided information to the FBI regarding suspect accounts and said those efforts will need to continue in 2020.

When asked whether Russia has been sufficiently deterred, Wray responded: “I think there are still more messages to be sent.”