Newly released documents reveal the FBI launched a secret investigation in 2017 questioning whether President Trump himself was a Russian asset, marking an unprecedented probe into a sitting commander-in-chief that remained hidden from public view for years.

Secret Investigation Launched Days After Comey Dismissal

The FBI opened the investigation, codenamed “Oxferd Comma,” on May 16, 2017, just days after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. According to the now-declassified memo, investigators sought to determine whether Trump 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.” The probe also examined potential obstruction of justice by Trump and unnamed associates. The misspelling of “Oxford” in the investigation’s codename remains unexplained in the White House release.

The investigation represented an extraordinary step by federal law enforcement, targeting the president directly amid national security concerns. Within a week of initiating the probe, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to oversee and expand the existing Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Russian election interference. The Oxferd Comma investigation quietly closed on April 9, 2019, as Mueller prepared to finalize his findings.

Mueller Report Found No Conspiracy

Mueller’s April 2019 report confirmed that Russia attempted to influence the 2016 election through social media disinformation and hacking Democratic Party emails. However, the investigation “did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.” This conclusion effectively ended the question of whether Trump acted as a Russian asset, though the existence of the specific FBI probe targeting him personally remained concealed until now.

Durham Review Exposed FBI Bias and Clinton Campaign Plot

Attorney General William Barr subsequently appointed John Durham to investigate how the FBI initiated the Russia investigation. Durham’s 2023 report concluded the Bureau lacked sufficient factual basis to open Crossfire Hurricane and exhibited bias by departing from standard procedures. Newly declassified annexes to Durham’s report reveal intelligence officials identified a Clinton campaign plan to connect Trump to Russia as a distraction from her email server controversy. A 2016 letter from Leonard Benardo, who worked for George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, suggested a coordinated effort: “Julie says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump.” The appendix identifies Julie as Clinton foreign policy advisor Julianne Smith.

What This Means

The revelation that federal law enforcement investigated a sitting president as a potential foreign asset raises constitutional questions about accountability and oversight. Trump has called Comey a “dirty cop” and “crooked man” in light of recent indictments. The documents expose the extraordinary measures taken during a turbulent political period and validate concerns about investigative overreach that Durham later substantiated. These disclosures will likely fuel ongoing debates about the weaponization of federal agencies and the reliability of intelligence used to justify investigations into political figures.