WASHINGTON — The FBI opened an investigation into whether President Trump was “wittingly or unwittingly” acting as a Russian agent when he fired then-Director James Comey in 2017, according to bombshell documents released by the White House Wednesday.
The probe, called Oxferd Comma, grew out of Crossfire Hurricane, the bureau’s probe into whether Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with the Kremlin to get the 45th president elected.
The Trump White House initially cited Comey’s handling of the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server as the reason for his dismissal — but it was later revealed the president fired Comey because he wouldn’t publicly state that Trump was not a target of Crossfire Hurricane.
The May 16, 2017, memo opening Oxferd Comma was approved by then-FBI General Counsel James A. Baker and Bill Priestap, assistant director of the bureau’s counterintelligence division.
The probe was meant to “determine if President Trump is or was directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with, the Russian Federation in a manner constituting a threat to the national security of the United States and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes,” the memo said.
“In addition, this investigation will also seek to determine whether President Trump and others yet to be named obstructed and/or conspiracy to obstruct any associated FBI investigation.”
Trump was not under personal investigation for collusion with Russia during the 2016 campaign, but his firing of Comey raised questions about possible obstruction of justice, which triggered an investigation headed by then-special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director.
Oxferd Comma was closed on April 9, 2019, with no charges against Trump.
The Mueller investigation also found no evidence that President Trump or any of his aides coordinated with Russia in 2016 but did find the campaign had some contact with individuals with ties to the Kremlin.
Trump has frequently raged about Crossfire Hurricane and the Mueller probe, calling the investigations a “witch hunt” and using them to claim the government was being weaponized against him. He accused the FBI of targeting him and has often refered to Comey as a “dirty cop.”
