President Donald Trump wants “total transparency” from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI amid heightened tensions following reports that the bureau infiltrated the chief executive’s campaign.

“What I want, is, I want total transparency,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn Wednesday. “You have to have transparency. Even [Democrats] probably want transparency because this issue supersedes the party. This supersedes Republicans and Democrats.”

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Trump demanded Sunday that DOJ investigate whether the Obama administration “infiltrated or surveilled” his presidential campaign for “political purposes.” The task was promptly added to the already lengthy to-do list of the DOJ inspector general, Michael Horowitz.

Horowitz will soon issue a report on how DOJ and the FBI handled the investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and address to conduct official business between 2009 and 2013, so examining whether there was any improper political motivation behind the FBI’s spying on the Trump campaign in some respects may already be quite advanced.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein also said in a statement Sunday that if anyone connected with the FBI “did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.”

Trump praised DOJ Wednesday for launching its internal review after The New York Times reported May 17 that the FBI placed a spy inside Trump’s campaign.

Deep in the story, The Times reported that “at least one government informant met several times with Mr. [Carter] Page and [George] Papadopoulos,” two of Trump’s former campaign advisers.

Trump’s call for an investigation into the allegations was met with outrage and fear-mongering among Democrats, mainstream media members, and Obama-era intelligence officials.

Former CIA Director John Brennan tweeted a warning to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) Sunday, writing, “If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy.”

“You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trump’s self-serving actions,” Brennan added.

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Former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper claimed during an appearance Tuesday on ABC’s “The View” that FBI officials “were not” spying on the Trump campaign, but instead were “spying — a term I don’t particularly like — on what the Russians were doing.”

Former FBI Director James Comey — whom Trump fired in May 2017 — tweeted Wednesday, “Facts matter. The FBI’s use of Confidential Human Sources (the actual term) is tightly regulated and essential to protecting the country. Attacks on the FBI and lying about its work will do lasting damage to our country. How will Republicans explain this to their grandchildren?”

Related: Dems Who Believe Spying on Trump Was ‘Justified’ Are ‘Just Nuts’

“Dangerous time when our country is led by those who will lie about anything, backed by those who will believe anything, based on information from media sources that will say anything. Americans must break out of that bubble and seek truth,” Comey added.

Trump, however, told reporters Wednesday that he was not “undercutting” democracy, the DOJ, or the FBI by calling for “total transparency.”

“No, no — we’re not undercutting. We are cleaning everything up,” Trump said. “This was a terrible situation. What we’re doing is we’re cleaning everything up. It’s so important. What I’m doing is a service to this country.”

Trump took to Twitter Wednesday to decry the “deep state” and its animus against him and his campaign.

“Look how things have turned around on the Criminal Deep State. They go after Phony Collusion with Russia, a made up Scam, and end up getting caught in a major SPY scandal the likes of which this country may never have seen before! What goes around, comes around!” Trump tweeted. “SPYGATE could be one of the biggest political scandals in history!”

Given Trump’s previous success in reality TV and in marketing himself for the Oval Office, “Spygate” might be the label that sticks on the scandal that has plagued his presidency to date.

PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.