The White House on Wednesday released declassified FBI records revealing that the bureau opened a criminal investigation in May 2017 into whether President Donald Trump was acting as an asset of Russia after he fired FBI Director James Comey. The probe, code-named “Oxferd Comma,” was opened on May 16, 2017, as part of the FBI’s broader Crossfire Hurricane investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

📝 Investigation Details

According to the declassified memorandum, the FBI was investigating whether Trump “may be or has been, wittingly or unwittingly, involved in activities for or on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation”. The memo also directed agents to determine whether Trump or others obstructed or conspired to obstruct the FBI’s Russia investigation.

The case was classified as a “sensitive investigative matter,” a designation that generally keeps an investigation from broader visibility inside the FBI. The memo, approved by then-FBI General Counsel James Baker and then-Assistant Director for Counterintelligence William Priestap, described the probe as “the least intrusive method” to address what agents viewed as a national security concern.

Official Response and Context

A senior administration official told CBS News that the investigation was predicated solely on Trump’s decision to remove Comey and that the theory was not backed up by evidence.

“I was unaware that the predicate for the obstruction included a claim that Donald Trump was somehow acting on behalf of Vladimir Putin,” the official told CBS. “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”.

Previously released FBI records also showed senior counterintelligence official Peter Strzok questioned the collusion allegations before Oxferd Comma was opened, writing in a May 2017 text message that he hesitated in part because of “my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there”.

Investigation’s Outcome

The Oxferd Comma probe was later absorbed into Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The official said the investigation was ultimately determined to have no merit when Mueller’s probe concluded. Mueller ultimately found no evidence that the Trump campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia.

In 2023, Special Counsel John Durham concluded the FBI lacked sufficient grounds to open the original Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

Trump’s Response

Trump has long called the Russia investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt,” accusing the FBI and intelligence agencies of weaponizing law enforcement against his campaign and presidency. The declassified records are the latest in a series of documents released by the administration as it seeks to expose what it says were abuses in the FBI’s investigation of Trump.