Peter Strzok: Did He Break The Law?

Peter Strzok, a former FBI agent, was fired in 2018 for exchanging text messages with FBI lawyer Lisa Page that were critical of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. The messages also indicated that Strzok and Page would stop Trump from becoming president. This led to accusations of political bias and conspiracy against Strzok, who played a senior role in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and briefly served on Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation into links between Trump's campaign and Russia. While Strzok's actions raised questions about his impartiality and judgment, the Justice Department's inspector general did not find sufficient evidence that political bias directly affected investigative decisions. Strzok filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, arguing that his text messages were protected political speech and that his termination violated his First Amendment rights. The lawsuit was settled in 2024, with Strzok receiving $1.2 million, but it remains unclear if he broke the law.

Peter Strzok's affair with Lisa Page

Peter Strzok and Lisa Page were both part of the FBI team investigating the 2016 Trump campaign's links to Russia. Strzok was a counterintelligence agent, and Page was an FBI lawyer. They had an affair during the 2016 election campaign, which was exposed in 2017 when Strzok's wife accessed his phone and read messages between the pair.

In the messages, Strzok and Page criticised then-candidate Trump and discussed efforts to prevent him from becoming president. They also discussed the ongoing investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, with Strzok revealing a bias towards Clinton and against Trump.

The affair and the text messages were exposed in December 2017, and both Strzok and Page left the Mueller investigation. Page resigned, while Strzok remained in his post until he was fired in August 2018.

Both Strzok and Page sued the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for invasion of privacy, with Strzok also claiming he was wrongfully terminated. In July 2024, the Justice Department agreed to pay $2 million to settle the privacy invasion claims, with Strzok receiving $1.2 million and Page $800,000. Strzok's lawsuit over his firing is still ongoing.

Strzok's dismissal from the FBI

Peter Strzok was fired from the FBI on August 10, 2018, by FBI deputy director David Bowdich. This dismissal overruled a recommendation by the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility, whose head, Candice Will, had determined that Strzok should only be demoted and suspended for 60 days.

The reason for Strzok's dismissal was a series of text messages exchanged with FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was having an extramarital affair. The messages contained criticisms of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his supporters, and Strzok wrote that he wanted to stop Trump from becoming president. These texts led to speculation that Strzok participated in a conspiracy to undermine the Trump presidency.

On August 6, 2019, Strzok filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the FBI and the US Department of Justice, claiming that his text messages were protected political speech and that his termination violated his First Amendment rights. He also alleged that his privacy rights were violated when his text messages were released to the media.

In July 2024, it was announced that Strzok and Page had reached a settlement with the Justice Department, with Strzok receiving $1.2 million and Page receiving $800,000. However, Strzok's lawsuit over his firing is still ongoing, as he continues to press his claims that he was fired to please then-President Donald Trump.

Strzok's violation of security protocols

Peter Strzok was a Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division. He was fired from the FBI in 2018 for exchanging text messages with FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was having an extramarital affair. The messages contained criticisms of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his supporters.

Strzok's text messages were found to be in violation of security protocols. In particular, he and Page used personal devices to conduct FBI business, which was deemed a "security violation" by the FBI's Candice Will, assistant director at the Office of Professional Responsibility. Will also noted that this was ironic given the FBI's criticism of Hillary Clinton for using a personal email server.

In addition, Strzok's wife accessed his personal cell phone and email accounts in 2017. While Strzok claimed that she did not view any FBI case-related information, he declined the DOJ Inspector General's request to view his personal email account.

The release of Strzok's text messages to the media was controversial and led to a lawsuit against the FBI and the DOJ, which was settled in 2024 with Strzok receiving $1.2 million.

Strzok's political bias

Peter Strzok, a former FBI agent, was accused by Republicans of being biased against Donald Trump and seeking to prevent his election victory. This was due to text messages exchanged with FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was having an affair. In these messages, Strzok called Trump an “idiot” and said “God Hillary should win 100,000,000 - 0”. In another exchange, Strzok responded to Page's question, "Trump is 'not ever going to become president, right? Right?!'", with "No. No he won't. We'll stop it".

Strzok and Page also advocated creating a Special Counsel to investigate the Hillary Clinton email controversy and discussed suggesting former US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald for the role. Devlin Barrett from The Washington Post alleged that Strzok and Page were using the backdrop of discussing the Clinton investigation as a cover for their personal communications during the affair.

In August 2018, Strzok was fired by FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich, overruling a recommendation by the FBI's employee disciplinary office that he should only be suspended for 60 days and demoted. Strzok's attorney cited this lesser disciplinary action in criticising the firing. Strzok filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the FBI and the US Department of Justice, claiming his text messages were "protected political speech" and that his termination violated his First Amendment rights.

In a congressional hearing in July 2018, Strzok denied that his personal beliefs influenced his work for the FBI. He explained that the "We'll stop Trump" text was written late at night and off-the-cuff in response to Trump denigrating the immigrant family of a fallen American war hero. Strzok said the message reflected his belief that Americans would not vote for a candidate who engaged in such "horrible, disgusting behaviour". He added that he never contemplated leaking information that could have damaged Trump's campaign.

A review by The Wall Street Journal in February 2018 concluded that "texts critical of Mr Trump represent a fraction of the roughly 7,000 messages, which stretch across 384 pages and show no evidence of a conspiracy against Mr Trump". A report by the Office of Inspector General in June 2018 criticised Strzok's text messages for creating the appearance of impropriety, but concluded there was no evidence of bias in the FBI's decision not to pursue criminal charges against Clinton.

In May 2024, Strzok and Page reached a tentative settlement with the Justice Department, with Strzok receiving $1.2 million and Page receiving $800,000.

Strzok's violation of privacy rights

Peter Strzok, the former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, filed a lawsuit against the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2019, alleging that his privacy rights were violated when his text messages with FBI lawyer Lisa Page were released to the media. The text messages in question, exchanged during the 2016 election campaign, contained criticisms and expressions of loathing towards then-candidate Donald Trump and exhibited political bias. Strzok and Page's messages also discussed creating a Special Counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton's email controversy and included statements such as "We'll stop it" in reference to Trump's presidential bid.

The release of these text messages to the press in December 2017 was done by the DOJ, which claimed it was in response to requests from congressional committees. However, the timing of the release—on the eve of the 2018 midterm elections—raised questions about the motives behind it. The disclosure of the texts became political fodder for Trump to oppose the Russia investigation and fueled his fury towards Strzok and Page.

Strzok's lawsuit asserted that his privacy rights, as protected by the Privacy Act, were violated by the DOJ's release of the text messages. He argued that the disclosure was done for partisan political purposes and was against the law. The lawsuit sought his reinstatement at the FBI, back pay, and damages for the alleged privacy invasion.

In July 2024, the Justice Department agreed to pay a total of $2 million to settle the privacy-invasion claims brought by Strzok and Page. While Page's suit was fully resolved with a settlement of $800,000, Strzok's suit continued as he pressed his claims of wrongful termination to please then-President Trump. The settlement acknowledged the violation of Strzok and Page's privacy rights, sending a strong message about the government's responsibility in handling personal information, even when it involves public figures.

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