I don't doubt that, but Obama took it to a whole new level. Sure, there's blame for the post-911 law making (and the pre-911 law failure that led to it), but Obama tread where Bush 43 (and Clinton!) would not. That was sorta my point.
With all the talk about Obama 'spying,' a few things have gotten lost in it all. Sam Clovis is the one who put together this advisory panel, that included Page and Popadopulos. He also recommended Whittaker as the acting AG. In each case, there was blowback over the personnel. He also talked each of them up, then acted like he didn't know them, when things went south.
Trump was not 'just joking,' when he made the Russian hacking comment. He was directly asked, by Katy Tur, if the comments gave him pause, not long after saying it. He said it did not and reinforced his reasons why he thought it was OK. That doesn't mean he's responsible for the DNC hack. However, he's done plenty to draw scrutiny.
The meeting at Trump Tower and Moscow building project were lied about and covered up, during the campaign. You can't lie, get caught lying, then say that had nothing to do with prompting an investigation.
If there's one thing Trump is particularly good at, it's deflection. He does plenty to get himself into trouble, then pulls the 'presidential harrassment' stunt. He hardly a blameless victim in all of this.
