Rush: Did FBI plant spy in Trump campaign?

There's no doubt that the "swamp" in Washington was stunned, enraged and even left fearful by the 2016 election of Donald Trump to the Oval Office. And individuals reacted in their shock.

Examples are galore.

Take, for instance, fired FBI Director James Comey, who took documents from private meetings with the president and gave them to a friend to give to a reporter so they would be publicized – and, he hoped, trigger a special counsel investigation.

And it's known now that one of the main documents used by the government to give to a court as evidence so that they could start spying on the Trump campaign was a hired political hit piece done by a contractor for a company paid off by Hillary Clinton.

Now talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh is suggesting that, based on the evidence that's become available, the Deep State may have had a spy infiltrate the Trump campaign.

"These swamp people are so in the vapors with all of this – I think they're so shocked and stunned over everything that's happened – that they have long since abandoned any rationality whatsoever," he said.

"I actually believe the FBI planted an informant in the Trump campaign – before Mueller was appointed, obviously," he said.

He cited three recent publications in coming to his conclusion.

The first was a column by Kimberley Strassel, of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, which made the point "that the Trump legal team is narrowly focused, that they're focused on defending and protecting Trump and what they need to be focused on is defending and protecting the Constitution and the presidency and the executive branch – and in doing so, they will take care of Trump."

Her theory, he explained, is that the attack being sustained by Trump critics isn't an attack on him, "it's an attack on the Constitution."

"It is an attempt to say that any president exercising his constitutional duties is obstructing justice! He can't fire Comey, that's obstructing justice? That's bogus! Her point is, the Constitution permits him control of the executive branch! He can do with anybody in the executive branch what he wants! He can declassify any file that he wants! He could make sure that we all could see the FISA warrant application. He could release everything; nobody could stop him. Her point is actually very good, that any president exercising his constitutional duties cannot be guilty of obstruction."

Second, for Limbaugh, was a Washington Post report that Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is seeking information from the Justice Department about "an individual who people close to the matter say is a sensitive, longtime intelligence source for the CIA and FBI."

Justice has refused to provide any information on the "U.S. citizen who has aided the special counsel investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 campaign."

Third was a Wall Street Journal report that commented on that very source.

"I would not be surprised if, in fact, the FBI planted an informant in the Trump campaign in order to try to prove this Russia collusion business," Limbaugh said Thursday.

He noted Nunes' demands for documents and information – and the Justice Department's refusal.

He explained that one of the reports suggests that reporters already know who the "top secret" source is.

He noted the description as a "U.S. citizen," who has been an informant for both "the CIA and FBI," and has provided information that was given to Mueller.

"So the Journal editorial claims the Post already knows who this source is – and if they do, why can't Nunes? Well, Nunes learning somehow would violate national security," he said.

The claims include that outing the source could "damage relationships with other countries," but Limbaugh said "only if the source is a foreign citizen, but we know now the source isn't."

"The source is a U.S. citizen, so outing the source would not damage relationships with other countries unless this source has also been involved in screwing other countries. But it suggests that the source has worked overseas. If they're gonna claim that a U.S. citizen cannot be outed here because it might damage relationships other countries, it means he has worked overseas. Suggests it, anyway," he continued.

Further, Limbaugh added, "And the story says the 'role of the intelligence source' could further provoke Republicans who have accused Justice and the FBI of engaging in 'misuse of their surveillance power,'' and, here we go, 'hinting that the government may have used the source to snoop on the Trump campaign'"

"There it is. So it's a pretty safe bet that the FBI planted an informant in the Trump campaign. Nunes wants to know who it is; the DOJ says, 'No way, Jose!'" he said.

"If they had an informant in that campaign who was supposed to find the collusion and they still don't have it? I mean, look at what we're learning. They had an informant in the campaign, and they still don’t have any evidence!"

Further, he pointed out that Glenn Simpson, of Fusion GPS, which hired Christopher Steele to create the so-called dossier allegedly about Trump, testified in 2017 that "the FBI had a source in the Trump campaign."

"Simpson claimed it was 'a voluntary source,' meaning it wasn't a plant, meaning somebody on the Trump team decided to become an informant against Trump," Limbaugh said.

His conclusion?

"This is the FBI more than likely planting an informant inside the campaign. Just remember, if they had somebody that nobody knew was there looking for this collusion and still didn’t find it, then what the hell is going on with this investigation?"