Moscow, May 24 (Sputnik) US President Donald Trump authorized the US intelligence community to engage in an investigation led by US Attorney General William Barr into surveillance activities surrounding his 2016 presidential election campaign, the White House has said.
“Today, at the request and recommendation of the Attorney General of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 Presidential election,” the White House press secretary said in a statement late on Thursday.
Trump also authorized the attorney general to declassify data as part of the probe.
“Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions,” the statement added.
The surveillance activities that affected some of the members of the Trump campaign team back in 2016 are seen by many as one of the origins of the probe into the alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the run-up to the presidential election, won by Trump.
While the probe failed to establish evidence of the alleged collusion, which was denied by both Moscow and Trump, in April, Barr announced an investigation into its origins.
In mid-May, Barr assigned John Durham, the US attorney in Connecticut, to look into the origins of the Russia probe.
