Politics

White House wants briefing on classified info, Giuliani says

/ CBS/AP

Lawmakers to be briefed on FBI informant's alleged role in Trump campaign

President Trump's legal team wants a briefing on the classified information shared with lawmakers about the origins of the FBI investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election. And they may take it to the Justice Department as part of an effort to scuttle the ongoing special counsel probe.

Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's newest and most outspoken attorneys, told The Associated Press on Friday that the White House hopes to get a readout of the information next week, particularly about the use of a longtime government informant who approached members of Mr. Trump's campaign in a possible bid to glean intelligence on Russian efforts to sway the election.

Mr. Trump has made unproven claims of FBI misconduct and political bias and has denounced the asset as "a spy," and has fixated on the topic in recent days.

Mr. Trump has fired off multiple tweets about the FBI's use of an informant, which he has dubbed "SPYGATE." A handful of members of Congress met with top intelligence officials earlier this week to discuss information related to the campaign's use of the informant, and White House chief of staff John Kelly and Trump lawyer Emmet Flood showed up for the beginning of those briefings.

"SPYGATE could be one of the biggest political scandals in history!" Mr. Trump said in an early morning tweet Wednesday.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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