Trump Says He Will Ask DOJ To Probe If Campaign Was Surveilled

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would ask the Department of Justice to look into whether FBI or DOJ officials infiltrated or surveilled the Trump campaign for political purposes, the president said in a tweet.

Trump said he would also ask if any such demands were made by the Obama administration. In his tweet, Trump said he would officially ask the DOJ to look into the matter on Monday.

The tweet by Trump was the latest in a series Sunday morning where he lashed out at The New York Times and Hillary Clinton and called the Russia investigation a "witch hunt" multiple times.

According to The New York Times, the FBI used an informant to talk to two campaign advisers after receiving evidence that the advisers had suspicious contacts linked to Russia. The Times reports that no evidence has emerged that the informant acted improperly or that the FBI started a politically motivated inquiry. Rep. Devin Nunes, a Republican from California and the head of the House Intelligence Committee, has demanded documents on the use of the informant but the DOJ has pushed back on the request, saying it could put the informant in danger.

The president's tweets on Sunday come a day after a report in The New York Times that revealed that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., took a meeting at Trump Tower in August 2016 that was arranged by Erik Prince, the former head of blackwater. George Nader, an emissary to two Arab princes and an Israeli who is a so-called specialist in social media manipulation attended the meeting. According to the Times, Nader, told Trump Jr. that the princes who led Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were eager to help his father win election as president. The social media specialist, Joel Zamel, talked about how his company could give Trump's campaign an edge.

A lawyer for Trump Jr. told the Times that Trump Jr. was not interested in what was offered at the meeting.

One of Trump's tweets on Sunday referenced the report, where he wrote, "Things are really getting ridiculous. The Failing and Crooked (but not as Crooked as Hillary Clinton) @nytimes has done a long & boring story indicating that the World’s most expensive Witch Hunt has found nothing on Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!"

Federal and Congressional investigations have revealed how Russia used social media to manipulate voters, organizing protests and counter-protests and purchasing ads to influence the election. A federal indictment from Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III's office said the intent of the meddling was to "sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election."

Trump Jr. was also among members of the Trump campaign that held a meeting with a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. Documents revealed by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week show that the Russians promised dirt on Hillary Clinton to members of the Trump campaign. That meeting was also first reported by the Times.

Mueller is investigating what role Russia played in interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether the Trump campaign cooperated with the Russians. According to the Times, the August Trump Tower meeting is a focus of Mueller's investigation.

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