We've had an interesting debate here in the US about the word "spy." The Attorney General is worried that the Democrats "spied" on the Donald campaign during the 2016 election. When asked in the hearing what he meant by "spy," he said, "I'm not sure of all the connotations of that word that you're referring to, but you know, unauthorized surveillance." The article went on to say that the Attorney General (Barr) chooses his words carefully and, given that, it's not clear if he'd realize the political storm he'd create with the word "spy." The article said there is an inherently negative meaning of "spy."
