The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has initiated an investigation into former Director James Comey concerning an alleged covert operation targeting Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The move comes shortly after Kash Patel assumed the role of FBI Director.

According to a report by The Washington Times, an FBI whistleblower disclosed that in 2015, Comey authorized an off-the-books operation involving two undercover female agents. These agents, referred to as “honeypots,” were tasked with infiltrating Trump’s campaign to gather potentially incriminating information.

In intelligence terms, a “honeypot” is an agent who pretends to have romantic or sexual intentions to gather information from someone. The whistleblower claims that Comey directly orchestrated this operation without any concrete crime as its basis, indicating it was a broad attempt to find any possible misconduct in the Trump campaign.

The whistleblower revealed that two female FBI undercover agents were embedded at high levels within Trump’s 2016 campaign, tasked with acting as “honeypots” alongside Trump and his campaign staff. The Times uncovered that under the new leadership of Director Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, the bureau is actively searching for these former undercover employees who operated under Comey’s command.

The whistleblower’s disclosure, which The Times has reviewed, contrasts with the FBI’s later counterintelligence operation, Crossfire Hurricane, which investigated unverified allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. According to the whistleblower, who had direct knowledge of the actions, Comey was personally involved, ordering and directing the investigation against Trump.

The whistleblower also indicated that the undercover operation was kept hidden from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, who later scrutinized misconduct in the bureau’s investigation of the Trump campaign.

According to the disclosure, “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.” The whistleblower noted that while the FBI has various ways to protect highly sensitive investigations, there was no justifiable reason for Comey not to have officially documented the investigation or assigned it a file number.

During a recent interview prior to the election, Comey showed visible concern regarding the actions Trump might take if he were to be reelected.

“Trump is coming for those institutions. He knows their power and I think he has regrets that he didn’t work hard enough to corrupt them last time. So he’s coming for them and that’s a danger for all Americans,” Comey told MSNBC.

Christopher Wray stepped down on January 19, just one day before Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president. Wray, who had overseen investigations into Trump, has faced criticism from congressional Republicans for falsely claiming he had official duties to skip an oversight hearing for a vacation.

In February, the Justice Department charged the acting FBI leadership with “insubordination” in a probe into the alleged misuse of law enforcement during Joe Biden’s presidency. Patel is expected to collaborate closely with Attorney General Pam Bondi as they pursue the issue.

The investigation into Comey’s alleged operation is expected to examine the extent of the surveillance and the decision-making processes that led to such measures. This inquiry adds to the ongoing discourse about the FBI’s role and impartiality in political matters, especially concerning high-profile figures and election-related activities.