McCabe Opened Formal Investigation of Trump One Day Before Mueller’s Appointment

Federal Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Andrew McCabe arrives for a meeting with members of the Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary committees in the Rayburn House Office Building Dec. 21, 2017 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe opened a criminal investigation of President Donald Trump on May 16, 2017, one day before then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel, according to a memo by McCabe released on Sept. 23.

In the memo, McCabe wrote that he had “approved the opening of an investigation of President Donald Trump” on the morning of May 16, 2017. McCabe informed Rosenstein of the opening of the investigation at 12:30 p.m. on that day.