Trump's already campaigning -- against the Russia probe

President Donald Trump's unproved assertions that the FBI spied on his campaign puts a twist on an old trial lawyer's saying.

"If the facts are against you, argue the law," the saying goes. "If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table."

Or in Trump's version, pound the investigators. Pushing more speculation than facts, Trump unleashed a blistering tweetstorm Sunday aimed at the FBI and Justice Department.

He would "demand" a Justice Department investigation into whether the department and the FBI "infiltrated or surveilled" his 2016 presidential campaign for political purposes, he tweeted. He also wanted to know "if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!"

Trump has been claiming since his early days as president that he was spied upon by President Barack Obama's administration. It is refreshing to hear that now, finally, he's interested in actual evidence.

The tweet appeared to be his response to reports in The New York Times and the Washington Post. A secret FBI source met with Trump campaign officials several times during the 2016 campaign, according to the newspapers, as part of the FBI's investigation into Russian interference with the election.

So, in other words, Trump's was demanding an investigation of the investigators who are investigating him. What could be wrong with that?

Well, let's give that "demand" the "What if Obama ..." test: What if Obama had demanded an investigation of investigators who happened to be investigating him for possible wrongdoing?

Would Republicans take kindly to that? I doubt that he would be greeted with candy and flowers.

But little stood in Trump's way on Monday when he pressured intelligence and law enforcement officials in a White House meeting. He wanted them to allow congressional Republicans to view highly classified information related to the Russia probe, including memos about the FBI informant.

Having heard reports that the FBI had sent an informant to talk to three of his advisers during the 2016 presidential election, Trump took this national security action to be evidence that his campaign was infiltrated for political purposes.

"Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president," Trump tweeted on Friday. "... If true -- all time biggest political scandal!"

"If true," indeed. That's Trump. Even his political scandals must be the "biggest" of "all time," especially when he sees himself as the victim.

But the informant apparently was not "implanted" in the campaign. Identified by the Post, the Wall Street Journal and other media as Stefan Halper, an American who teaches at the University of Cambridge, he is a well-connected veteran of past Republican administrations. He was sent by FBI agents to talk to Trump campaign advisers, according to the Times, "only after (the bureau) received evidence" that the campaign aides "had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign."

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has resisted past pressure from Trump to open or close politically charged cases, agreed this time to an apparent compromise: Investigating the investigators for any irregularities with FBI tactics would be left to the Justice Department's inspector general.

Either way, Trump appears to have accomplished what he wanted from this dust-up. He gave important attention to the alternative scenario that he and some of his conservative allies have been promoting.

From the candidate whose campaign brought us "alternative facts," we now have Trump and his allies repeating "No collusion" and "Mueller has been probing long enough" and "The real collusion was between Hillary Clinton and the Russians," among other alternative history.

But, behind his outlandish tweeting and table-pounding, Trump knows his audience well. A CBS News poll in early May, for example, showed how widely his talking points are being embraced.

A slim majority (53 percent) of the Americans polled said they believe special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election is politically motivated. Only 44 percent said they think the investigation is justified.

But before Trump gets too cocky with those numbers, he should remember that 76 percent said he still should cooperate with the investigation, if he's asked to be interviewed.

As cynical as they may sound about Washington's capacity for reform -- even in the likes of Mueller, a staunch Republican with a stellar public record -- Trump supporters do care about accountability. So should we all. It's part of the glue that holds our democratic republic together.

========

(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.)