FBI opened an investigation in 2017 against Trump on suspicion of acting under Russian influence

New official documents released to the public in the United States reveal today (Friday) a secret and explosive affair from the first term of Donald Trump. According to the documents, immediately after Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, the bureau opened a special investigation to check whether the move was made in coordination with or under the influence of the Russian government.

The secret investigation, which received the code name "Oxferd Comma"—likely with an intentional typo to make it harder to locate in Freedom of Information requests—was based on information gathered in a previous investigation that examined the ties of the Trump election campaign to Russia. FBI investigators sought to determine whether the president acted in a manner that constituted a security threat, and whether the firing of Comey was intended to obstruct the bureau's investigation into the matter.

Among other things, the inquiry addressed various events, including Trump's meetings with Comey, the changing versions of the White House regarding the reason for the firing, discussions held by campaign staff about positions on Ukraine, and also Trump's assets and businesses related to Russia. Although the president initially gave other reasons for firing Comey, he later admitted that the Russia investigation was also on his mind.

Law enforcement authorities clarified even then that the mere opening of the investigation did not indicate that the suspicions against the president were indeed verified. In the years that have passed since, the affair has been examined in depth by several central bodies: the report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller determined that his team did not find evidence of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, and did not reach a legal conclusion regarding the question of obstruction of justice.

In addition, the Inspector General's report found that the FBI had enough information to open the initial investigation, but revealed serious errors in the applications for legal surveillance warrants. Likewise, the report of prosecutor John Durham sharply criticized the conduct of the FBI and determined that the base investigation was opened without sufficient evidentiary support and without adherence to the standards accepted in sensitive investigations.