The House Judiciary Committee is currently investigating allegations from a whistleblower report suggesting that the FBI initiated an unauthorized operation to target former President Donald Trump shortly after he announced his presidential candidacy in June 2015. The timeline suggests that the probe very likely was authorized by then-FBI Director James Comey, adding yet another blemish to his career.
According to a protected disclosure from an FBI agent involved in the initial investigation, the operation was conducted off the books and involved two female undercover agents. The agents allegedly infiltrated Trump’s 2016 campaign at senior levels, operating as “honey pots.” They were directed to travel with Trump and his campaign staff, gathering intelligence under the pretense of being part of the campaign.
A report reviewed by The Washington Times indicates that the whistleblower disclosure describes an investigation that diverges significantly from the later Crossfire Hurricane counterintelligence operation, which focused on so-called ‘Russian collusion,’ an allegation that turned out to be a fabrication directed in part by the Hillary Clinton campaign. This earlier probe, characterized in the whistleblower’s report as completely unauthorized, targeted Trump and his 2016 presidential campaign staff directly.
The agent stated that he “personally knew” that Comey ordered an FBI investigation against Trump and that Comey “personally directed” it, according to the disclosure. The off-the-books investigation did not seem to target a specific crime; rather, it resembled what agents would characterize as a fishing expedition aimed at uncovering something incriminating about Trump, the Times reported.
A spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee stated that the committee has received the whistleblower allegations and “plans to investigate them.” The whistleblower claimed that the undercover operation was concealed from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, who looked into misconduct within the bureau’s investigation of the Trump campaign.
The disclosure also indicated that the secret investigation might suggest institutional bias against Mr. Trump, although “it does not appear that any information about this investigation was turned over to Trump’s criminal defense counsels.”
Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker said the report, if true, is a “booming, egregious violation” of the rules governing the attorney general and the FBI. “It’s an unpredicated infiltration of a presidential campaign which is sensitive,” he told The Times. “It’s sensitive to the point where it would have to have been approved by the [attorney general], and … would have to be predicated. And in this case, I’m not hearing any predication. It would have to be on the books anyway, regardless.”
The Times added that the earlier off-the-books investigation, according to the disclosure, “had no predicated foundation, so Mr. Comey personally directed the investigation without creating an official case file in Sentinel or any other FBI system.” The disclosure highlights that the FBI employs various methods to conceal highly sensitive investigations, indicating that Comey did not have a “legitimate reason” for failing to create a case file in the FBI’s system.
Comey served as director of the FBI from 2013 until May 2017, when President Trump fired him, the Times reported. Deputy Director Dave Bowdich and Paul Abbate, the assistant director in charge of the Washington field office, were involved in assisting Comey with the secret investigation, the Times said. According to the whistleblower, undercover “honeypot” agents targeted George Papadopoulos, who was an adviser to the Trump campaign.
The FBI whistleblower stated that the off-the-books investigation was closed after a newspaper obtained a photograph of one of the undercover agents and was preparing to publish it. According to the agent’s disclosure, the FBI press office misled the newspaper by claiming the photograph was of an FBI informant rather than an undercover agent, warning that the informant would be killed if the photograph were published.
Additionally, the whistleblower alleged that one of the undercover agents agreed to transfer to the CIA to avoid being available as a potential witness. Another bureau employee involved in the operation was reportedly rewarded with a promotion and is now a high-level executive at the FBI. “The FBI employee personally observed one or more employees in the FBI being directed to never discuss the operation with anyone ever again, which included talking with other people involved in the operation,” the disclosure states.
