The White House has released documents showing that the FBI initiated a 2017 counterintelligence investigation, codenamed "Oxferd Comma," to determine whether President Donald Trump was acting on behalf of or under the influence of the Russian Federation when he fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017.

According to an FBI memo dated May 16, 2017, investigators sought to establish 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 and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes." The memo also indicated that investigators would examine whether Trump or others had obstructed or conspired to obstruct an associated FBI investigation.

The investigation's codename, "Oxferd Comma," appears to contain a misspelling of "Oxford," which some speculate was intended to complicate Freedom of Information Act requests.

The opening memo referenced information developed during "Crossfire Hurricane," the FBI’s counterintelligence probe into whether individuals linked to Trump’s 2016 campaign coordinated with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.

Trump initially cited Comey’s handling of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as the reason for Comey’s dismissal, though he later acknowledged that the Russia investigation also influenced his decision.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, appointed in 2017 to investigate Russian election interference, reported in 2019 that his team did not establish coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia and did not make a prosecutorial decision on obstruction.

US President Donald Trump at Camp David

Sources

Notable Quotes

  • "opened after Trump fired Comey in May 2017, according to the White House’s release. It is unclear why"
  • "was seemingly misspelled, though there has been speculation that the misspelling may have been intended to make the investigation more difficult to uncover through Freedom of Information Act requests. Investigators sought to determine whether Trump was"