Peter Strzok—the ubiquitous FBI agent connected to the Hillary Clinton email investigation, the Trump-Russia counterintelligence probe, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team—reportedly was escorted out of FBI headquarters on Friday. It’s unclear what prompted Strzok’s departure, but it is probably not a coincidence that his exit took place the day after the Justice Department’s Inspector General released his report on the agency’s handling of Hillary Clinton emails.
In a statement released Tuesday, Strzok’s lawyer confirmed his client was shown the door as “part of the ongoing examination process.” He further claimed Strzok is the victim of “unfounded personal attacks, political games, and inappropriate information leaks.”
Cue the tiny violin.
Strzok is a pivotal figure in the emerging tale of corruption and cover-up that occurred in the DOJ during 2016 and 2017. Thanks to tens of thousands of text messages discovered between Strzok and his alleged lover, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, we now know their level of contempt for Donald Trump. Not only did Strzok ridicule Trump when he was a candidate, the president-elect and the president, he fantasized about Trump either being impeached or resigning from office. He authored one of the most infamous political texts in history, assuring Page in August 2016 that “we’ll stop” Trump from being elected.
So, who is this mystery man? Strzok led the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server; Inspector General Michael Horowitz confirmed on Tuesday that Strzok attended the July 2, 2016 interview with Clinton. She must have charmed the seasoned intelligence officer, because he then helpfully edited the July 5, 2016 statement by ex-FBI Director James Comey that claimed Clinton’s conduct was “extremely careless” rather than “grossly negligent,” a term with legal consequences. (Several texts reveal Strzok wanted Clinton to be the next president.)
He then was assigned as lead investigator to the counterintelligence probe into whether Trump campaign associates were colluding with the Russian government to influence the election.
In January 2017, he interviewed Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security advisor. (Strzok also knew the judge who last year signed off on Flynn’s guilty plea related to the Mueller probe; the judge, who also serves on the FISA court, was later recused for unknown reasons.) And in July 2017, he joined Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team. (He told Page he was enticed by the prospect of helping to impeach a president.) Strzok left Mueller’s office a month later, purportedly because of the discovery of the texts, and was assigned to the FBI’s human resource division.
Now Strzok is out for unknown reasons, but testimony this week may give a clue why. Did he lie to FBI investigators? Did he illegally leak classified information to the media and receive perks in return? Did he edit official notes related to his Flynn interview, which has long been suspected and suggested during yesterday’s hearing with Horowitz?
Whatever the reason, it appears that every investigation Strzok conducted is now compromised. Strzok said last week he would testify before Congress: Let’s get some answers from him.