White House reportedly paranoid, fears wiretapping as RussiaGate heats up
A source tells Politico that FBI investigation has administration officials spooked
A source tells Politico that FBI investigation has administration officials spooked
Donald Trump‘s White House is reportedly increasingly paranoid as the Russia investigation continues to heat up.
Last week, former national security adviser Michael Flynn reached a plea deal with investigators in which he agreed to cooperate with them, and that plea deal has members of the Trump administration nervous.
Add to that the fact that former campaign aide George Papadopoulos had been secretly dealing with investigators and that the deal wasn’t revealed until October, and there is certainly cause for concern among White House staff members.
–Flynn says Trump official ‘directed’ him to make contact with Russians–
“Everyone is paranoid,” a person close to Trump’s White House told Politico. “Everyone thinks they’re being recorded.”
The fears aren’t unfounded, considering the fact that the 10-page plea deal reached by Flynn with Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation includes the promise of “participating in covert law enforcement activities.”
Those activities could include such measures as wearing a wire, and it’s that possibility that has White House staffers spooked.
However, Ty Cobb, a White House lawyer, said that it’s unlikely Mueller will use wires or other recording methods for his investigation.
“Mueller is too good a professional and too good a prosecutor to tape represented individuals and he doesn’t want his office or his important mission to be tainted,” Cobb said.
Ronald Hosko, the former assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division, agreed, saying it was unlikely Mueller would wire Flynn, though he didn’t rule out the use of wires entirely.
“They’d be very guarded in taking those steps,” he said. “That’s not to say no under any circumstances. But the notion of going after [senior Trump White House aide Jared] Kushner, flipping him and asking him to wear a wire in the White House on Donald Trump? I don’t think we’re at that point yet.”
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