The White House Government Transparency Task Force released newly declassified FBI memos Wednesday showing the bureau opened a full counterintelligence investigation into President Donald Trump himself in May 2017, one week after he fired FBI Director James Comey.
The investigation was codenamed "Oxferd Comma" ā the misspelling of "Oxford" is unexplained in the documents. It was opened as a subcomponent of Crossfire Hurricane, the broader FBI probe into potential collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Russian government.
The release was authored and published by John Solomon, an investigative journalist who chairs the White House Government Transparency Task Force. Solomon, a longtime figure in Washington reporting known for his work at The Hill and Just the News, has led the task force's document declassification efforts.
The key document, an "Opening Electronic Communication" dated May 16, 2017, authorized a full investigation into a sitting U.S. president. It states: "The FBI is opening a full investigation based on an articulable factual basis that reasonably indicates that President Donald J. Trump may be or has been, wittingly or unwittingly, involved in activities for or on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation which may constitute violations of federal criminal law or threats to the national security of the United States."
The Timeline
According to the memos:
ā¢ May 9, 2017 ā Trump fires Comey.
ā¢ May 16, 2017 ā The FBI formally opens Oxferd Comma. Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe personally briefs Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein the same day.
ā¢ May 17, 2017 ā Rosenstein appoints Robert Mueller as special counsel.
The case was marked "sensitive," a designation generally used to limit the number of agents with access to a case. An administration official said agents who opened the case believed it was the least intrusive method available to address what they viewed as a serious national security concern.
How the Case Closed
Oxferd Comma was folded into Mueller's broader investigation after his appointment. The case was formally closed April 9, 2019, weeks after Mueller's investigation concluded with no criminal charges against Trump related to Russian collusion. The closing memo notes: "The Special Counsel provided the Attorney General with a confidential report explaining his prosecution and declination decisions."
An administration official told reporters the theory behind the investigation "was not backed up by evidence," adding: "The short of it is, almost everything in the FBI's possession at that point had debunked or ruled out that Trump or his campaign was colluding with Russia at that time."
Why It's Surfacing Now
The declassification comes as federal prosecutors in Fort Pierce, Florida, are reportedly investigating whether the FBI, Justice Department and U.S. intelligence agencies engaged in a broader pattern of investigating Trump and his supporters without an adequate evidentiary basis.
Sources
The White House ā official release
Additional reporting from Fox News and Just the News.