The FBI has reportedly launched an investigation into an off-the-books operation predating Crossfire Hurricane that former Director James Comey allegedly ordered with the aim of infiltrating President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.

According to the Washington Times, the bureau under the leadership of Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino is looking for a pair of once-undercover female employees who were allegedly directed to worm their way into the Trump camp as "honeypots" when traveling with the then-presidential candidate and his campaign team.

An agency whistleblower revealed in a protected disclosure to the House Judiciary Committee last year that shortly after Trump announced his bid for the presidency in June 2015, Comey — an Obama appointee — allegedly deployed two undercover FBI agents to compromise the campaign at senior levels, gaining access and intelligence.

The whistleblower report suggested that the operation was effectively a fishing expedition, as it did not appear to be targeting any specific crime; was intentionally hidden from Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz during his review of possible FBI misconduct; was ultimately abandoned after one of the infiltrators had her cover blown; and served as possible evidence of institutional bias against Trump.

'Dirty cops. Bad people.'

"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," said the whistleblower's disclosure, obtained by the Times. "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."

Comey has made no secret of his willingness to draw outside the lines. He bragged in 2018, for instance, about giving directions to agents — with the apparent aim of sabotaging the Trump administration — that he "probably wouldn't have done or maybe gotten away with in a more organized investigation, a more organized administration."

The whistleblower further alleged that one of the two "honeypot" agents was transferred to the CIA to avoid being brought in as a possible witness. The other agent reportedly received a significant promotion and now operates as a high-level bureau executive in a major field office.

'James Comey belongs in prison.'

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker previously told the Times that if the whistleblower's allegations are true, "it's an unpredicated infiltration of a presidential campaign, which is sensitive."

The Times said the FBI has declined to comment.

If the former undercover agents are found and ultimately confirm the veracity of the whistleblower's claims, then Trump will once again be vindicated for his sense that the "witch hunt" started "from the day we came down the elevator."

"It was evil. It was corrupt. It was dirty cops. It was leakers and liars. And this should never, ever happen to another president ever," Trump said in early 2020.

"Had I not fired James Comey — who was a disaster, by the way — it's possible I wouldn't even be standing here right now. We caught him in the act. Dirty cops. Bad people."

Steve Friend, a 12-year FBI veteran who blew the whistle about potential violations of citizens' Sixth and Eighth Amendment rights in the bureau's Jan. 6 investigations, said the alleged honeypot scheme "is the stuff of spy novels and communist dictatorships. James Comey belongs in prison."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!