FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe reportedly launched an obstruction of justice investigation into President Donald Trump prior to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.

CNN reported Thursday evening that in the days following Comey’s ouster in May 2017, McCabe, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and other leading FBI officials met to discuss how to curb the president from future actions they thought would add to the turmoil at the FBI.

Among the options discussed was Rosenstein donning a wire during meetings with President Trump in an attempt to capture what he believed was manic behavior demonstrated by the president that could potentially be used to convince cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment. Rosenstein has vehemently denied the proposition was a serious one and, after several meetings with the president, the Justice Department’s number two official appears to be safe in his position.

CNN reports:

The obstruction probe was an idea the FBI had previously considered, but it didn’t start until after Comey was fired. The justification went beyond Trump’s firing of Comey, according to the sources, and also included the President’s conversation with Comey in the Oval Office asking him to drop the investigation into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The new details about the genesis of the obstruction case into Trump that became a key element of the Mueller probe shed light on the chaotic week following Comey’s firing and the scramble to decide how best to respond. They also help to explain the origins of the Mueller investigation that has stretched across 19 months, consumed Trump’s presidency and is building toward a dramatic day of courtroom filings on Friday. … Prior to Comey’s firing, top FBI officials had discussed opening an obstruction investigation based on the President saying to Comey, “I hope you can let this go” when discussing Flynn. That episode was later described in memos Comey wrote following the February meeting that the former FBI director would leak soon after his firing.

On May 17, 2017, the Justice Department appointment Mueller special counsel to investigate Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election, along with any connections “between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.”

“It’s shocking that the FBI would open up an obstruction case for the President exercising his authority under Article II,” President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani told CNN.