FBI officials were 'rattled' and 'blindsided' by Trump's call for Ukraine to manufacture dirt on Joe

Three years ago, the FBI launched an unprecedented investigation focused on one question: Did President Donald Trump's campaign help a foreign power interfere in the 2016 election?

Now, just months after that investigation was formally closed, FBI officials are stunned the president is openly calling for another country to intervene in another presidential election.

One special agent, who spoke with Insider on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press, said officials were "rattled" not just by the nature of Trump's actions but also by his brazenness.

"You walk down the halls and there was this sense of dread, and everyone's kind of thinking, did the president really do this?" the agent said.

The agent was one of four current and former officials Insider spoke with about the matter. In addition to feeling undermined by the Justice Department's ongoing investigation into the Russia probe's origins, sources also said FBI officials were frustrated with how the Justice Department handled a criminal referral related to a whistleblower's allegations against Trump, saying it added to a sense that the bureau was being "neutered."

At the heart of the controversy are Trump's repeated efforts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. Biden is one of the 2020 Democratic front-runners and Trump's chief political rival.

https://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-officials-rattled-blindsided-by-trump-request-ukraine-biden-dirt-2019-10