Oxferd Comma – the FBI’s criminal probe of President Trump

The White House has released new documents concerning the FBI’s criminal probe of President Trump – Oxferd Comma – that was initiated in May 2017, just months after his inauguration.

As we all know, Crossfire Hurricane was officially opened in the summer of 2016. That investigation continued even after Trump’s election in November 2016. By May 2017, the FBI and the rest of the Intelligence Community was increasingly desperate. The FISA warrants on Carter Page revealed no useful intelligence, thus requiring the submission of increasingly deceptive renewals that altered the truth and included both the omission of material facts and outright lies to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

With that desperation in mind, FBI management was undoubtedly pleased when President Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017. After all, to those who had been targeting Trump and his associates for nearly a year, the firing wasn’t the Executive faithfully executing his duties or exercising his prerogative to replace a corrupt and embattled FBI Director.

Instead, it was an opportunity to open a criminal (and counterintelligence) investigation that had two parts:

1. Whether President 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.”

2. Whether President Trump “obstructed and/or conspired to obstruct any associated FBI investigation.”

At this time, the basis for any type of counterintelligence or criminal investigation into Trump and Russia was non-existent. Nearly 12 months of a formal investigation had passed by this point. FISA warrants had collected evidence since October 2016 – approximately 7 months of intelligence that provided zero justification for continuing an investigation into whether Trump was a Russian agent.

But that didn’t matter to the FBI. The investigation needed to be opened not on the basis of sound law enforcement principles, but because the Trump Presidency needed to be ended. And so the criminal investigation – OXFERD COMMA – was officially opened. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was informed of the investigation that same day.

Curiously – if you believe in such coincidences – Robert Mueller was appointed Special Counsel by Rod Rosenstein the very next day. It’s like the FBI set it all up, happy to open the investigation to force the hand of Rod Rosenstein to appoint a Special Counsel that had near limitless powers to run down a baseless investigation and ruin lives in the process. An act which would also help insulate these same top FBI officials from accountability.

What was the Trump/Russia predicate? A disputed discussion over drinks between Australian Diplomat Alexander Downer and George Papadopoulos, a low-level campaign aide. Part of the same predicate that was used to justify opening Crossfire Hurricane in the first place. According to the newly released FBI Opening Electronic Communication: