Current FBI leadership is investigating allegations that the agency conducted an unauthorized operation to infiltrate Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign using two female undercover agents, according to a Tuesday report. The operation, reportedly ordered by then-FBI Director James Comey in 2015, was disclosed by a whistleblower to the House Judiciary Committee and first reported by The Washington Times in October.
According to the whistleblower’s protected disclosure, Comey personally directed an off-the-books investigation targeting Trump shortly after he announced his candidacy in June 2015. The disclosure alleges that two female FBI agents infiltrated the campaign at high levels and were instructed to act as “honeypots” — operatives using romantic or sexual interest to gather information — while traveling with Trump and his campaign team.
This operation, the whistleblower claims, was separate from the well-known Crossfire Hurricane investigation into allegations of Russian collusion. The investigation is said to have lacked sufficient justification, conducted without proper case files in FBI systems, which might have concealed it from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz during his review of FBI misconduct.
The Washington Times reports that current FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino are investigating the whereabouts of the former undercover agents involved in the operation. The FBI has yet to comment on these allegations.
According to the whistleblower’s disclosure, the operation ended after a major newspaper obtained a photograph of one of the undercover agents. FBI officials reportedly intervened to prevent publication by falsely claiming the agent was an informant whose life would be at risk if exposed. Following the operation, one undercover agent was allegedly transferred to the CIA, potentially removing her as a witness. The other agent was reportedly promoted and now holds a senior position in a major FBI field office.
The whistleblower also claims that those involved in the operation were instructed never to discuss it, which the whistleblower viewed as a direct threat. If these allegations are proven true, they could suggest that the FBI harbored institutional bias against Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, the Times said.
