US President Donald Trump has stated that he will "request" an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the FBI was involved in his 2016 presidential campaign.
"I will tomorrow formally ask the Department of Justice to investigate whether the FBI was involved in or monitored the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes and whether any such requests were made during the Obama administration," Trump said in a tweet on May 20.
US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has said action will be taken if any involvement is reported.
"If someone has been involved in the presidential campaign for improper purposes, we need to know and will take appropriate steps," Rosenstein said in a statement.
Unconfirmed claims
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Trump wants an investigation into whether the FBI surveilled his campaign
Several times Trump has mentioned the possibility of FBI spies in his campaign, a theory that many conservatives have discussed without providing any evidence.
Trump has also considered the work of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating whether foreign governments have tried to influence the presidential campaign, as an attempt to harm Republican candidates in the congressional elections that are being held in November this year.
Trump has dismissed the investigations and has repeatedly considered them a "witch hunt".
The US president, who has long complained about the Russian investigation, has now taken a different angle by referring to the meeting of his son, Donald Trump Jr., with an envoy representing the princes of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in August 2016.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that the meetings were a sign that countries other than Russia may have offered help to Trump during his presidential campaign.
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Trump has not ruled out being questioned about Russian meddling
"Now the Witch Hunt has pulled out of Russia and is looking around the world, trying to damage the Republican Party in the November midterm elections," he said.
In September, the Justice Department said there was no evidence to support Trump's claims that Obama ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign.
It was not clear at the time what kind of answers Trump was seeking, as the Justice Department's investigations are secret and insulated from political influence or White House interference.
An internal panel is already investigating Republican complaints about FBI misconduct in the early stages of the Russia investigation.
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Trump reiterates his belief that his 2016 campaign was wiretapped
The Democrat, Adam Schiff, a member of the Intelligence Committee, called the suspicions of the American president "nonsense".
"His request to investigate something that is known to be untrue is an abuse of office and an attempt to draw attention away from growing legal problems," Schiff said in a tweet.
