Jeff Sessions Defends AG Barr’s Description of FBI Probe of Trump Campaign: ‘Spying’ is a ‘Perfectly Good Word’

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended Bill Barr on Wednesday from the uproar over his successor’s characterization of the counterintelligence investigation on President Donald Trump‘s 2016 campaign.

Barr’s use of the term “spying” to describe the FBI probe has sparked controversy among political observers due to the implication it carries that the investigation was conducted unlawfully. Sessions fielded questions from MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle during his appearance at the SALT investment conference in Nevada, and at one point, she asked him about how FBI Chief Christopher Wray disagreed with Barr’s characterization.

Sessions acknowledged Wray’s disagreements, but said “I think spying is a perfectly good word.” He said people were “making a mountain out of a molehill” on the matter, even as he said he was waiting for more facts to come out.

Chris Christie was also part of the conversation, arguing that the question was whether surveillance of the Trump campaign was authorized, or if the FISA courts were misled, in which case, the spying would be unauthorized.

Watch above, via MSNBC.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!