Then on March 20, for the first time, James Comey publicly acknowledged the investigation. Here's what he said:
I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 Presidential Election. And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts. As with any counterintelligence investigation, this will also include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed.
The FBI, no longer restricted from acknowledging the existence of the investigation, modified its position on Jason and Ryan's request for documents about Trump's Russia statement in a status report filed in court. You can read the document here.
First, it is going to search for the documents responsive to the request. It thinks there are some.
9. Although initial searches began only as recently as the week of March 20, 2017, and definitive information is not yet available, the FBI expects that it possesses at least some records that are responsive to Plaintiffs’ Russia Request and subject to FOIA.
Again, Shapiro and Leopold only requested documents pertaining to Donald Trump's statement, not anyone else's statements. The FBI filing goes on to say:
10. Because of the existence of an active, ongoing investigation, the FBI anticipates that it will assert Exemption 7(A), on a categorical basis, to withhold all records that are responsive to the Russia Request, because releasing any responsive records (or portions thereof) "could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A).
So the FBI is confirming that documents about Donald Trump's statement about Russia and Democrats' emails could interfere with enforcement proceedings.
Does this mean Trump is the subject or a target of the federal criminal investigation? No. But it confirms that his statement, and documents concerning his statement, are relevant to the FBI's ongoing investigation into "links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts."
The Court set a deadline of July 25, 2017 for the FBI to file a pleading explaining how release of the documents sought by Shapiro and Leopold would interfere with an ongoing law enforcement operation.
