![]() What’s the technical difference (if any) between those two terms and jobs?Ĭampbell: The President casting a human intelligence source as a “spy” is pure politics. – should receive special protections in order to prevent any malfeasance on the part of aggressive investigators, operations involving SIMs would require high-level review and approval.Ĭillizza: President Trump has cast this informant as a spy. Understanding that certain segments of society – politicians, the press, clergy, etc. It’s also important to remember that investigations involving political officials receive even greater oversight as they fall within a category deemed Sensitive Investigative Matters, or SIMs. Not only are there very specific guidelines surrounding the deployment of sources, each source operation is continually and meticulously reviewed in order to ensure the source is operating lawfully and does not present undue risk to the government. While it would be difficult for an FBI special agent to walk into Trump Tower and glean on his or her own whether Russians were attempting to infiltrate the Trump campaign, a confidential informant – with “placement” and “access,” to use the terms of the trade – could be extremely useful in helping mitigate potential threats to US national security.Ĭillizza: What is the approval process – if any – for the FBI to get clearance to deploy an informant?Ĭampbell: While I can’t get into specifics due to the sensitivities surrounding the use of human intelligence sources, I’ll say from vast experience running informants domestically and overseas that this investigative tool is among the most highly scrutinized within the Department of Justice. If a special agent running a lawfully predicated criminal or counterintelligence investigation wants to learn more about what the targets of the investigation are up to, a logical investigative tool would be the use of an informant who could report back on the inner workings of a network. Why does the FBI use informants?Ĭampbell: Informants often serve as the backbone of important investigations, because they take the FBI into places they could never go on their own. His answers, lightly edited for flow, are below.Ĭillizza: Let’s start basic. How solid is the ground Trump is treading on? What’s the difference between a spy and an informant? And how does the FBI go about getting approval for an informant? I asked former FBI special agent Josh Campbell, a CNN contributor, all of these questions – and more! By Sunday night, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had made clear that Justice would investigate whether any wrongdoing was found in the use of the informant, who, according to CNN sources, was never embedded in the campaign. Several news outlets have confirmed such a person, though some have not identified him.On Sunday, President Donald Trump called on the Justice Department to open an internal investigation into whether the FBI placed an informant into his 2016 presidential campaign to spy on him. Devin Nunes, California Republican and intelligence committee chairman, have both accused the FBI of planting an informant or “spy” within the Trump campaign. Halper valso visited the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in August 2017 for a China-related meeting. ![]() Halper was a willing partner, pitching himself for an envoy post. The two men already knew each other.Ĭiting “a source briefed on their interactions,” Axios said Mr. Halper, among about a dozen other people, should be considered for an Asian ambassadorship. Navarro told the incoming administration during the transition period that Mr. Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, according to Axios.Īccording to Axios, Mr. ![]() Stefan Halper, an academic China scholar, was recommended for such a post by a man who is now Mr. The man who reportedly was an informant for the FBI within Donald Trump’s presidential campaign also sought a permanent position within the Trump administration, Axios reported Monday.
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