James Clapper actually said...

No, I -- no, they were not. They were spying on -- a term I don't particularly like -- but on what the Russians were doing. Trying to understand, were the Russians infiltrating, trying to gain access, trying to gain leverage and influence, which is what they do.

Context

Clapper clarifies that the FBI was not spying on the Trump campaign but rather investigating Russian activities.

05/22/2018

https://transcripts.cnn.com...

More James Clapper Quotes

I think this reflects Russian insecurity. And it's almost like, Putin needs a rhetorical security blanket, of making threats, like this.
4/26/2022
The frequency with which they are occurring, tells me that they're kind of in - they realize they're kind of in a jam.
4/26/2022
I think it has more to do with the psychology of Putin, and Russia. And he needs to assure his own people, Parliamentarians, he was talking ...
4/26/2022
There's this gray area of First Amendment protection rights versus an insidious presence in our country that is really there to weaken and d...
4/12/2022

View All James Clapper Quotes