Declassified FBI memos released by the White House reveal that the bureau initiated a counterintelligence investigation in 2017 to examine whether President Donald Trump was acting on behalf of, or under the influence of, Russia following his dismissal of FBI Director James Comey.
The probe, codenamed "Oxferd Comma," was opened shortly after Trump fired Comey in May 2017. The reason for the apparent misspelling of "Oxford" remains unclear, though speculation suggests it may have been intended to impede discovery through Freedom of Information Act requests.
According to an FBI memo dated May 16, 2017, investigators aimed to ascertain if 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 plans to scrutinize whether Trump or others had obstructed or conspired to obstruct an associated FBI investigation.
The memo cited information developed during Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into alleged coordination between individuals associated with Trump's 2016 campaign and the Russian government. It also referenced later events and information, including Trump's interactions with Comey, shifting explanations for Comey's firing, discussions within the Trump campaign about the Republican platform's stance on Ukraine aid, and Trump's business and real estate dealings involving Russia.
Trump initially stated that Comey's handling of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server was the reason for his dismissal. However, he later acknowledged that the Russia investigation was also a consideration in his decision.
The FBI memo noted that the circumstances surrounding Comey's termination could suggest that the bureau's counterintelligence investigation played a role in Trump's decision.
The decision to open the investigation did not, however, mean the suspicions were substantiated. Special counsel Robert Mueller, appointed in 2017 to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, reported in 2019 that his team did not establish coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. He also did not make a prosecutorial decision on obstruction.
In 2019, Attorney General William Barr appointed John Durham to review the origins and handling of the FBI's Russia investigation. Durham's 2023 report concluded that the FBI opened the full Crossfire Hurricane investigation without sufficient evidentiary support and did not apply the same level of rigor used in other sensitive investigations.
A separate 2019 review by the Justice Department inspector general found that the FBI had sufficient information under its guidelines to open Crossfire Hurricane, though it later identified significant errors and omissions in surveillance applications concerning former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
The documents were declassified and released by the White House through its Government Transparency Task Force.