Vice President Mike Pence said allegations that the FBI spied on the Trump campaign for political reasons are "very troubling" but that he's confident the Department of Justice's inspector general will determine whether anything illegal or improper took place.
Pence sat down with Fox News' Martha MacCallum for a wide-ranging interview broadcast Monday night. He was asked about the status of the Russia investigation and the latest reports that claim the FBI may have gotten political during the 2016 presidential campaign.
"With the revelations that our campaign may have been the subject of surveillance by the FBI, the president I think is grateful that the Department of Justice is going to have the inspector general look into it and determine and ensure that there was no surveillance done for political purposes against our campaign," Pence said.
"I think it would be very troubling to millions of Americans if that took place, but we are very confident that as the inspector general has been doing their work, looking at the conduct of the FBI during that period, that by adding their focus to this that we will get to the bottom of it because the American people have a right to know."
Pence noted that he and others "hold the FBI in such high regard," so reports that the nation's top law enforcement agency might have turned into a political weapon are unfortunate.
Trump met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats Monday to discuss, among other topics, the recent allegations leveled at the FBI. After the meeting ended, the White House released a statement that said another meeting will be set up between DOJ and congressional leaders so the latter can review classified documents they've been requesting related to Trump campaign surveillance.
Pence was asked whether Trump would declassify the documents so the American people would have the opportunity to read how the DOJ opened the Trump investigation.
"The principle here that the American people have a right to know what happened, the people's Congress ought to have the ability to review those materials in a timely way, is a principle we adhere to in this White House," Pence said.
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