The House Judiciary Committee is currently investigating a whistleblower report that alleges the FBI initiated a covert operation targeting Donald Trump shortly after he declared his presidential campaign in June 2015. This operation, said to be an off-the-books effort, was reportedly ordered by FBI Director James B. Comey and occurred prior to the well-known Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
An individual from the FBI who was involved in the investigation disclosed this information in a secure communication to the committee on Tuesday. The whistleblower claimed that two female undercover agents from the FBI infiltrated high-level positions within Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign, instructed to operate as “honeypots” while accompanying Trump and his team on the campaign trail.
As reported by The Washington Times, the whistleblower’s account indicates that this initial investigation was distinct from the later Crossfire Hurricane operation, which focused on potential collusion with Russia. The early investigation amounted to a criminal examination specifically directed at Mr. Trump and his campaign staff.
The whistleblower stated that this agent “personally knew” Mr. Comey directed the investigation against Trump, underscoring Comey’s direct involvement. Notably, the off-the-record probe didn’t seem to focus on any particular crime but resembled a search without a clear objective, akin to what agents might call a fishing expedition for incriminating evidence against Trump.
The Times has reached out to both the FBI and Mr. Comey for their comments on this matter. A spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee confirmed that they have received the allegations from the whistleblower and “plans to look into them.”
It was highlighted that this undercover operation was kept from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, who previously looked into misconduct connected to the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign. The disclosure intimated that this covert investigation could reveal an institutional bias against Trump, stating that “it does not appear that any information about this investigation was turned over to Trump’s criminal defense counsels.”
Chris Swecker, a former assistant director at the FBI, remarked that if these claims are accurate, it would represent a “booming, egregious violation” of the regulations governing both the FBI and the attorney general’s office. He elaborated, “It’s an unpredicated infiltration of a presidential campaign which is sensitive. 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.”
Mr. Trump officially began his presidential campaign on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City. This event occurred approximately a year before the FBI launched the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, which sought to uncover any coordination between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. Importantly, both the FBI and the Justice Department’s special counsel investigation later found no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia.
According to the whistleblower, the earlier off-the-books investigation “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 noted that the FBI has various means to keep sensitive investigations concealed, implying that Mr. Comey had no valid reason for failing to create an official case file.
Mr. Comey led the FBI from 2013 until May 2017 when he was dismissed by President Trump. The whistleblower also mentioned that Deputy Director Dave Bowdich and Paul Abbate, the assistant director overseeing the Washington field office, played roles in executing this covert investigation.
The undercover agents reportedly focused on George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign adviser. Papadopoulos pled guilty in October 2017 to making false statements to the FBI regarding his contacts with Russia. Trump later pardoned him in 2020 after Papadopoulos served just 12 days in federal prison.
Documents released in April 2020 revealed that FBI agent Curtis Heide was overseeing a confidential human source who had recorded conversations with Papadopoulos, where he denied any involvement of the Trump campaign in hacking the Democratic National Committee’s emails.
Notably, Papadopoulos’ denials were not included in the FBI’s application for a warrant to surveil Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, as pointed out in a report by Horowitz, which listed this omission among 17 “significant inaccuracies and omissions” in the FBI’s application.
The whistleblower explained that the off-the-books investigation was eventually terminated when a newspaper acquired a photo of one of the undercover agents and was poised to publish it. According to the whistleblower’s claims, the FBI attempted to mislead the newspaper by asserting that the image depicted a confidential informant, not an undercover agent. The FBI cautioned that if the photograph were published, the informant would face lethal repercussions.
Moreover, the disclosure suggested that one undercover agent agreed to be transferred to the CIA to avoid being available as a witness, and another involved in the operation received a promotion as a reward for her participation and is now a senior FBI executive.
The whistleblower stated, “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.”
