Defending the specific act of spying on foreign political influence isn't the same as defending the entire government, or even other actions related to that spy

Defending the specific act of spying on foreign political influence isn't the same as defending the entire government, or even other actions related to that spying (such as the torture you mentioned). By this logic, if someone 'bad' does anything, that anything can be claimed to be sinister and unreasonable, and any statements otherwise are "defending someone bad".