WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews)-The FBI opened an investigation into whether President Donald Trump was “wittingly or unwittingly” acting as a Russian agent after he fired then-Director James Comey in 2017, according to newly declassified documents released by the White House on Wednesday.

The probe, code-named “Oxferd Comma,” stemmed from Crossfire Hurricane, the bureau’s investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia.

A May 16, 2017, memo opening the investigation, approved by then-FBI General Counsel James A. Baker and Bill Priestap, assistant director of the counterintelligence division, stated: “Based on the facts and circumstances provided to date, the FBI believes that opening this investigation is the least intrusive method to address the serious national security risk posed by the activities alleged.”

The memo said the inquiry aimed to “determine if President Trump is or was directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with, the Russian Federation in a manner constituting a threat to the national security of the United States and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes.” It also sought to examine whether Trump and others obstructed or conspired to obstruct related FBI investigations.

Trump initially cited Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as the reason for the firing. It later emerged that the president was frustrated that Comey would not publicly state that Trump was not a personal target of Crossfire Hurricane.

Trump was not under personal investigation for collusion during the 2016 campaign. His dismissal of Comey raised questions of possible obstruction of justice and led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director.

Contemporaneous messages showed some FBI officials had doubts about continuing the collusion inquiry. In a May 19, 2017, text, then-Deputy Assistant Director Pete Strzok wrote to FBI special counsel Lisa Page: “I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there.”

The White House released the documents amid ongoing scrutiny of the Russia investigations. Former Just the News editor in chief John Solomon, now serving on a Trump administration election integrity task force, noted that the probe was opened after agents had cleared former national security adviser Michael Flynn of collusion claims and after the Christopher Steele dossier had been largely debunked.

Oxferd Comma was closed on April 9, 2019, with no charges filed against Trump. Weeks earlier, Mueller’s investigation found no evidence that Trump or his aides coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 election, though it documented some contacts with individuals tied to the Kremlin.

A later review by special counsel John Durham concluded that the FBI’s original Crossfire Hurricane investigation was “seriously flawed” and lacked an adequate evidentiary basis.

Then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had recommended Comey’s firing in a May 9, 2017, memo, citing the director’s public statements about the Clinton email probe as a violation of long-standing Justice Department policy.