In a startling revelation, a whistleblower has disclosed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated an off-the-record probe into Donald Trump as early as June 2015, immediately after he declared his presidential candidacy.
This covert operation was reportedly ordered by James Comey, the FBI Director at the time.
According to The Post Millennial, the protected whistleblower disclosure, which was submitted to the House Judiciary Committee, revealed that Comey had personally directed two undercover FBI agents to infiltrate Trump's 2016 campaign. These agents, acting as "honeypots", mingled with the upper echelons of Trump's campaign team, even traveling with them.
The whistleblower's disclosure further revealed that Comey's investigation into Trump was not targeted at a specific crime. Instead, it was described as a fishing expedition, an attempt to uncover any incriminating evidence against Trump. "The 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 stated.
Assisting Comey in this covert operation were Deputy Director Dave Bowdich and Paul Abbate, the assistant director in charge of the Washington field office. The undercover agents targeted George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign advisor. Papadopoulos later pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI in October 2017 and was pardoned by Trump in 2020.
The whistleblower also revealed that the secret investigation was abruptly closed when a newspaper obtained a photograph of one of the undercover agents and threatened to publish it. The FBI's press office intervened, claiming the individual in the photograph was an informant, not an agent, and that their life would be endangered if the image was published.
The disclosure also noted that one of the agents agreed to a transfer to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to avoid being a witness, while another employee received a promotion. 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 includes talking with other people involved in the operation."
The House Judiciary Committee has expressed its intention to investigate the allegations brought forth by the whistleblower. Chris Swecker, former FBI Assistant Director, expressed his concern to The Times, stating that if the report is true, it represents a "booming, egregious violation" of the rules for the attorney general and the FBI. He emphasized the sensitivity of infiltrating a presidential campaign, asserting that such an operation would require approval from the attorney general and would need to be predicated and officially recorded.
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