White House declassifies FBI probe of Trump after Comey

The White House declassified documents on August 5, 2026, revealing that the FBI opened a secret criminal investigation into President Donald Trump days after he fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. The investigation, codenamed "Oxferd Comma," formally examined whether Trump was acting, knowingly or unknowingly, as an agent of the Russian government.

According to the newly released records, the FBI's counterintelligence division opened the full investigation on May 16, 2017, one week after Comey's dismissal on May 9. The opening document stated investigators had an "articulable factual basis" to determine if Trump's actions constituted a national security threat or violated federal law. The probe specifically sought to ascertain whether the president was "directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with" Russia and whether he or others obstructed justice. The memo was approved by then-FBI General Counsel James Baker and then-Assistant Director for Counterintelligence William Priestap.

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe personally notified Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein of the investigation's opening on May 16. The following day, Rosenstein appointed...