A secret FBI informant has entered the spotlight recently revealing that he met with three advisers to President Trump’s campaign during the 2016 presidential election. The Washington Post reported Friday that he met with George Papadopoulos, Carter Page and former Trump campaign co-chairman, Sam Clovis.
The informant is a retired professor who is said to be a longtime U.S. intelligence source. The academic met with Clovis for coffee in Northern Virginia in the summer of 2016. He apparently offered to provide foreign policy advice to the campaign. The New York Times had previously reported on Wednesday that he approached Papadopoulos and Page as well.
The rise of the informant has given credence to claims by GOP lawmakers and Trump allies that the Obama administration planted a “mole” in the Trump campaign. They alleged wanted to dig up dirt on Trump and his associates.
No Direct FBI Evidence
There is no direct evidence that the FBI dispatched the informant to infiltrate the campaign. But exactly how he became involved in the Russia investigation and how much information he provided to the FBI remains unclear.
The informant’s role has created concern at the FBI, officials are seeking ways to mitigate the potential damage if the source’s identity is exposed.
The Times reported Friday that the source is well known in Washington circles and has worked for the CIA for years. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is raising alarms. He subpoenaed the Justice Department for documents related to the source earlier this month. But they declined to provide the records out of concern that it could endanger the informant and his associates.
Trump himself has also seized on reports that the informant met with campaign advisers. The president suggested on Thursday that the Obama administration had improperly spied on his campaign, and that, if so, it could end up being “bigger than Watergate.”
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