The White House on Wednesday released declassified information confirming that the FBI once launched an inquiry into whether President Trump was acting as an asset for Russia. This investigation, which an administration official stated lacked supporting evidence, was initiated following the president’s 2017 decision to fire then-FBI Director James Comey.
Known as “Oxferd Comma,” the case functioned as a subcomponent of the broader “Crossfire Hurricane” probe into potential collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Russian government. Officials marked the case as sensitive to restrict access from other agents, viewing it as the least intrusive method to address perceived national security risks. The investigation was eventually absorbed into Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s larger inquiry, where it was ultimately determined to have no merit upon the conclusion of the Mueller investigation.
An administration official expressed surprise at the scope of the inquiry, stating, “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 added that by that stage, existing FBI intelligence had effectively debunked the notion that the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia.
President Trump dismissed Comey in May 2017. While the White House initially attributed the firing to Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, the Mueller report suggested the president was frustrated by Comey’s refusal to publicly clear him of personal ties to Russia. Following the dismissal, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel to examine Russian election interference and potential campaign links. While Mueller found no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination, he did document various contacts between campaign associates and individuals linked to the Russian government.
The relationship between the two men remains deeply adversarial. Mr. Trump has frequently labeled the FBI’s actions as unethical and has long criticized Comey as a “dirty cop,” while Comey has publicly described the president as “morally unfit” for office. Legal tensions persist, as Comey was charged earlier this year with threatening the president’s life through social media posts involving seashells and numerical codes—allegations Comey claims are part of a vindictive prosecution, a charge the Justice Department denies. A separate indictment against Comey for making false statements to Congress was previously dismissed.
“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.”
Trump fired Comey in May 2017, just months into his first term as president.
Trump’s life by posting photos of seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47.” Comey has alleged he is being vindictively and selectively prosecuted, which the Justice Department has denied.
Trump, the official said, and was later found not to have any merit when the rest of the Mueller investigation was closed down.
Trump has frequently accused the FBI and other intelligence agencies of conducting unethical investigations into his campaigns and presidency, and has vowed to launch probes of his own.
Source: CBS News
