FBI Director Kash Patel has launched an investigation into former FBI Director James Comey regarding the bureau’s alleged surveillance of the 2016 Trump campaign, a report noted on Tuesday.

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The Washington Times revealed that Comey, who President Donald Trump dismissed as FBI director in 2017, has been accused by a whistleblower of authorizing an “off-the-books” investigation into Trump.

The whistleblower alleges that Comey ordered two female undercover agents to infiltrate the Trump campaign in 2015. The investigation was reportedly separate from the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe into potential Russian interference with the Trump campaign, a conspiracy theory that was ginned up by the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign and echoed endlessly by Democrats including now-Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

Patel and newly appointed FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino are now reportedly investigating Comey based on the whistleblower’s claims. The Times noted:

New leadership at the FBI is starting an investigation into the origins of the agency’s plan a decade ago to infiltrate the campaign of then-candidate Donald Trump using two female undercover “honeypot” agents.

The off-the-books investigation, launched in 2015 by former FBI Director James Comey, was revealed by an agency whistleblower in a protected disclosure to the House Judiciary Committee last year and first reported exclusively by The Washington Times in October.

In the intelligence community, a honeypot commonly refers to an undercover operative, usually a woman, who feigns sexual or romantic interest to obtain information from a target.

According to the Times, Patel and Bongino have begun their investigation by attempting to locate the two alleged “honeypot” agents involved in the operation.

“New leadership at the FBI is starting an investigation into the origins of the agency’s plan a decade ago to infiltrate the campaign of then-candidate Donald Trump using two female undercover ‘honeypot’ agents,” the Times noted further.

“The off-the-books investigation, launched in 2015 by former FBI Director James Comey, was revealed by an agency whistleblower in a protected disclosure to the House Judiciary Committee last year and first reported exclusively by The Washington Times in October,” said the report.

According to the disclosure, the whistleblower agent “personally knew” that Comey ordered the investigation into Trump and that Comey “personally directed it.”

The investigation did not seem to focus on a specific crime but appeared to be more of a “fishing expedition” aimed at finding any incriminating evidence that could be used against Trump. The whistleblower also stated that the undercover operation was hidden from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, who had been tasked with investigating misconduct in the FBI’s probe of the Trump campaign.

“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,” according to the whistleblower’s disclosure. “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.”

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Also, the disclosure noted that the secret investigation may have indicated institutional bias at the FBI against Trump. However, “it does not appear that any information about this investigation was turned over to Trump’s criminal defense counsels.”

The investigation was ultimately closed after a major newspaper acquired a photograph of one of the undercover agents and was about to publish it, the outlet reported.

The FBI Press Office stepped in, informing the outlet that the image showed an FBI informant who would be at risk if it was made public. However, the photograph actually depicted an FBI undercover employee, as reported by The Times.

The whistleblower further revealed that one of the undercover agents voluntarily transferred to the CIA to avoid becoming a potential witness in the investigation. Meanwhile, the other agent received a promotion within the FBI and currently holds a prominent executive role at a major field office, the Times report said.

Additionally, the whistleblower noted that certain FBI employees were instructed to never speak about the operation, including with others involved in the 2016 Trump campaign infiltration. This directive was perceived by the whistleblower as a clear threat to those who were warned, the outlet added.