Why did the New York Times wait until now to report on Trump campaign spying?
Former Republican congressman and Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz reacts to the latest front-page story on the FBI sending an undercover investigator to meet with the 2016 campaign.
After a bombshell revelation on Thursday that the FBI sent an undercover investigator to meet with ex-Trump aide George Papadopoulos in 2016, former Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz said the news reveals a push to expose how the probe into President Trump's alleged affiliations with Russia really began.
The New York Times broke the story that the FBI sent a woman to meet with Papadopoulos at a bar in London in 2016, which has fueled the president's argument that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into him was politically motivated. The woman, who identified herself as Azra Turk, reportedly asked Papadopoulos point-blank if Trump was collaborating with Russians to swing the 2016 election.
Chaffetz, during an appearance on "Fox & Friends" on Friday, said the Times was offering up the story as an attempt to "soften the blow" before Inspector General Horowitz releases his report investigations of allegations of misconduct by the FBI and former director James Comey.
Chaffetz also questioned why, if the FBI suspected Russians were attempting to hack Trump's campaign, they didn't offer their assistance in protecting Trump.
"They were actually out there spying on him. And planting stories and leaking stories. The president has been right on this one. It's one of the worst scandals we have ever seen and it's tied to Hillary Clinton and the Democrats," Chaffetz said.
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Chaffetz added that he believes the "attacks" on Attorney General Barr in recent weeks have been an attempt to discredit him, as he has made it clear that he plans to pursue the FBI's investigation "with vigor."
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"I think the Democrats are trying again to discredit the attorney general knowing that he is going after the origins of how this whole thing got going. Because, it is in nefarious at best," Chaffetz said.
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