New leadership at the FBI has launched an investigation into the origins of the agency’s plan from a decade ago to infiltrate the campaign of then-candidate Donald Trump using two female undercover agents in a “honeypot” operation. The off-the-books investigation, initiated in 2015 by former FBI Director James Comey, was brought to light by a whistleblower in a protected disclosure to the House Judiciary Committee last year, with the story first exclusively reported by The Washington Times in October.
Within the intelligence community, the term “honeypot” typically refers to an undercover operative, often a woman, who pretends to show sexual or romantic interest in a target to gather information. According to the whistleblower, two female FBI undercover agents infiltrated Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign at high levels, instructed to act as “honeypots” while accompanying Trump and his campaign staff.
The Times has learned that the FBI, now under the leadership of Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, is actively searching for those former undercover agents who were operating under the direction of Comey. According to the whistleblower disclosure, which The Times reviewed, this investigation was distinct from “Crossfire Hurricane,” a later FBI counterintelligence operation that investigated bogus allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The whistleblower revealed that the early off-the-books investigation was a criminal probe targeting Donald Trump and his staff. Trump officially launched his presidential campaign on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City, roughly a year before the FBI initiated Crossfire Hurricane. According to the disclosure, the whistleblower agent “personally knew” that Comey ordered the investigation into Trump and that Comey “personally directed it.”
The investigation did not seem to focus on a specific crime but appeared to be more of a “fishing expedition” aimed at finding any incriminating evidence that could be used against Trump. The whistleblower also stated that the undercover operation was hidden from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, who had been tasked with investigating misconduct in the FBI’s probe of the Trump campaign.
“The case had no predicated foundation, so Comey personally directed the investigation without creating an official case file in Sentinel or any other FBI system,” according to the whistleblower’s disclosure. “The FBI has multiple methods of protecting highly sensitive investigations, so Comey did not have a legitimate reason not to officially create an official investigation file or have a file number.” Also, the disclosure noted that the secret investigation may have indicated institutional bias at the FBI against Trump, though “it does not appear that any information about this investigation was turned over to Trump’s criminal defense counsels.”
The investigation was eventually closed when a major newspaper obtained a photograph of one of the undercover agents and was preparing to publish it. The FBI Press Office intervened, telling the outlet that the photograph depicted an FBI informant who would be in danger if the image was made public. In reality, the photograph was of the FBI undercover employee, The Times reported.
The whistleblower also noted in the disclosure that one of the undercover agents agreed to be transferred to the CIA to prevent her from becoming a potential witness in the case. The other undercover agent was rewarded for her role with a promotion within the bureau and now holds a high-level executive position in a major FBI field office.
The whistleblower also observed one or more FBI employees being instructed to never discuss the operation with anyone, including those involved in the 2016 Trump campaign infiltration. The FBI whistleblower viewed this directive as a direct threat to the employees who were given the warning.
