Newly released records detail how the FBI launched a full investigation into whether President Donald Trump dismissed James Comey on Russia’s behalf, despite a Justice Department recommendation faulting Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email case and internal doubts about the broader collusion allegations.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Newly declassified documents have exposed that the FBI secretly opened an investigation into President Donald Trump, alleging he may have been acting as a Russian asset after firing then-FBI Director James Comey. The probe was launched on May 16, 2017—just one week after Trump dismissed Comey—despite the FBI knowing the firing was unrelated to Russia, according to a Just the News report.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) criticized the investigation during an interview on Just the News, No Noise, stating, “Whenever we do these investigations, the only thing we get wrong is that it’s always worse than we thought. And here’s another example where, wow, it was even worse than we thought. No evidence whatsoever, but they do this stuff anyway. Spend taxpayer money, spend resources, going after the guy that we the people made the President of the United States. That’s how bad this all was.”

The timeline of events leading to the investigation includes:

  • July 5, 2016: Comey held a press briefing announcing the FBI had completed its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, stating, “Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.”
  • May 9, 2017: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein sent a memo to Attorney General Jeff Sessions recommending Comey’s firing, citing mishandling of the Clinton email investigation. The memo did not mention Russia.

After Rosenstein’s recommendation, Trump fired Comey.

  • May 10, 2017: A friend of Comey’s leaked memos detailing his alleged interactions with Trump.
  • May 11, 2017: The New York Times published an article based on Comey’s leaked memos, claiming Trump asked for a “loyalty” pledge.

That same day, Trump was interviewed by NBC News’ Lester Holt about his decision to fire Comey. The FBI later used a portion of this interview to justify investigating Trump, claiming he gave changing reasons for the firing.

  • May 12, 2017: Trump tweeted a warning to Comey, saying he should “hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations.”
  • May 16, 2017: The New York Times published a second piece based on Comey’s memos, claiming Trump asked him to end the FBI’s investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. That same day, the FBI sent an electronic communication announcing an investigation into Trump’s firing of Comey and whether it was on behalf of Russia.

The FBI’s electronic communication stated: “The FBI is opening a full investigation based on an articulable factual basis that reasonably indicates that President Donald J. Trump may be or has been, wittingly or unwittingly, involved in activities for or on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation which may constitute violations of federal criminal law or threats to the national security of the United States.” The memo, approved by then-FBI General Counsel James Baker and then-Assistant Director for Counterintelligence William Priestap, also aimed to determine if Trump obstructed or conspired to obstruct any associated FBI investigation.

The FBI cherry-picked parts of Trump’s interview with Holt to justify the investigation, claiming Trump’s decision to fire Comey prior to Rosenstein’s recommendation “can be reasonably read to imply that the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation was a factor in President Trump’s decision to terminate Comey.”

However, the full interview with Holt showed Trump saying he wanted an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election but believed it should have been completed more quickly. “In my opinion, it should have been over with a long time ago, because all it is, is an excuse, but, I said to myself I might even lengthen the investigation, but I have to do the right thing for the American people,” Trump said. “[Comey’s] the wrong man for that position.”

The memo also cited a minor change to the Republican National Committee (RNC) platform, which The Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin framed as a significant deal. Rogin distorted Trump’s words, implying that the campaign had removed an amendment from the RNC platform that would have armed Ukraine against Russia. However, journalist Aaron Mate reported that the RNC rejected a proposal to provide “lethal defensive weapons” to Ukraine, while the platform still included provisions to increase sanctions on Russia and provide assistance to Ukraine—a stronger stance than the Democratic National Committee’s platform.

  • May 17, 2017: Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate alleged collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia and whether that collusion led to Comey’s firing.
  • March 7, 2019: Mueller released his report on Russian interference, finding that Trump’s 2016 campaign did not collude with Russia to win the election.
  • August 29, 2019: An Office of the Inspector General report determined that Comey’s leaking of his memos violated DOJ and FBI policies, including the FBI’s employment agreement. The DOJ declined to prosecute.

“The responsibility to protect sensitive law enforcement information falls in large part to the employees of the FBI who have access to it through their daily duties,” Inspector General Michael Horowitz wrote in the OIG report. “Former Director Comey failed to live up to this responsibility. By not safeguarding sensitive information obtained during the course of his FBI employment, and by using it to create public pressure for official action, Comey set a dangerous example for the over 35,000 current FBI employees—and the many thousands more former FBI employees—who similarly have access to or knowledge of non-public information.”

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