The White House Government Transparency Task Force released newly declassified documents Wednesday exposing an FBI criminal investigation code-named Oxferd Comma.
The records show the FBI opened a full investigation on May 16, 2017, targeting President Trump on the theory that he may have been acting, wittingly or unwittingly, as a Russian agent when he fired FBI Director James Comey.
The probe alleged Trump could be involved in activities on behalf of the Russian government that violated federal law or threatened national security. It also examined whether he obstructed the FBI’s work. Acting Director Andrew McCabe advised Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on the opening of the probe.
At the time the case was launched, FBI agents had already debunked the Steele dossier, cleared Michael Flynn of collusion, and been told Carter Page was a CIA asset. Lead agent Pete Strzok texted that there was “no big there there.” Another lead agent, William Barnett, concluded there was no evidence of Russian collusion and wanted off the case, calling it a bad game of Clue.
Despite that, the FBI still opened Oxferd Comma and used it as part of the push to appoint Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Rosenstein, who knew the real reason Comey was fired involved mishandling the Clinton email case, allowed the probe to proceed and authorized Mueller.
The case was closed on April 9, 2019, shortly after Mueller’s report, with no charges against Trump. The task force also released a stack of prior evidence that contradicted the investigation’s original basis.
