The FBI Fires Peter Strzok Following The Anti-Trump Texts Scandal

BAILEY T. STEEN | TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2018

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) has ultimately decided to fire Peter Strzok, one of the top agents previously tasked with overseeing the Trump-Russia investigation from special counsel Robert Mueller, following the reveal of text messages presenting the appearance of an anti-Trump bias several months ago.
According to a new report from Vox, a publication which received an email statement from Strzokâs attorney Aitan Goelman, it was the FBIâs deputy director David Bowdich who specifically ordered Strzokâs firing for unspecified reasons, defying the disciplinary office recommending a lower punishment for the agent.
This decision was quickly celebrated by the president, a key subject of the investigation, whoâs been more than happy to label federal agents as participates of a political âwitch huntâ into the potential criminal behaviour behind his 2016 presidential campaign:
âAgent Peter Strzok was just fired from the FBI â finally,â Trump tweeted early Monday morning. âThe list of bad players in the FBI & DOJ gets longer & longer. Based on the fact that Strzok was in charge of the Witch Hunt, will it be dropped? It is a total Hoax. No Collusion, No Obstruction â I just fight back! Strzok⌠was [also] in charge of the Crooked Hillary Clinton sham investigation,â the president continued. âIt was a total fraud on the American public and should be properly redone!â
In early December, the DOJâs Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a scathing 500-page report documenting major missteps within the F.B.I. under the tenure of former director James Comey. The report, originally obtained by The Washington Post, cites over 50,000 texts that were exchanged between former F.B.I. agents Strzok and his lover Lisa Page, a trial attorney on Muellerâs team. The scandal surrounds messages showing discontent for then-candidate Trump and a personal preference for his rival Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and Democratic nominee.
Behind the scenes, Strzok was among the lead agents heading up the 2016 criminal investigation into Sec. Clintonâs use of an unsecured private email server while at the State Department (DOS).
According to government sources with CNNâthe network jokingly called the âClinton News Networkâ â there are electronic records which show Strzok drafted Comeyâs famous decision to not indict Clinton, changing the language from her being âgrossly negligentâ with DOS top secret classified information, which could be considered a criminal offence, to the new term of âextremely carelessâ, which has nowhere near the same kind of legal punch.
These records havenât been released to the public for verification, though they were highlighted by the ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. During this time, the lovers exchanged texts worried about the political implications of a Clinton indictment:

Page: âOne more thing: she might be our next president. The last thing you need us going in there loaded for bear. You think sheâs going to remember or care that it was more DOJ than FBI?â
Strzok: â Agreed. I called Bill [Priestap, the FBIâs chief of counterintelligence] and relayed what we discussed. He agrees. I will email you and [redacted] the same.â
Page: â[Trumpâs] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!â
Strzok: âNo. No he wonât. Weâll stop it.â
Strzok was the Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence at the time.
âI donât recall writing that text,â Strzok said during an open hearing with the House Judiciary and Oversight Committee in July. âWhat I can tell you is that text in no way suggested that I or the FBI would take any action to influence the candidacy. As Iâve stated, that text was written late at night, in shorthand.â
While the inspector general heavily criticised Strzok, expressing concern that potential bias could infest Muellerâs investigation, the report stops short of presenting evidence that political views affected his decisions and made clear âStrzok was not the sole decisionmakerâ. This leaves our job difficult given that CNNâs anonymous sources are making the more anti-Clinton claims against Strzok and and the Trump government arenât leaping to the presidentâs narrative. Theyâve both flipped the script on each other, in a sense, turning two sides of partisan political theatre into a genuine he said-she said.
Whatever the truth may be, Mueller decided to terminate Strzokâs position from the Trump-Russia investigation months ago. The appearance of bias against the president, the key subject of the investigation, was too much of an unethical liability for the likes of Mueller. Now the F.B.I. has followed suit, though the decision has a messier implication. Without providing reason for his firing, the F.B.I. has sent a message that any private conversation between agents about presidential candidates and subjects/targets is a fireable offence by the government â where no evidence or investigation is required.
Job ethics aside, isnât there at least a free speech conversation to be had there? Doesnât the F.B.I. have a process to prevent wrongful termination? Or ethical oversight in how the Clinton/Russia probe decisions were made? Or is the businessman-in-chief and the lower lackeys able to hire and fire without much of a gridlock? Now Strzok now joins former F.B.I. Director James Comey and former Deputy F.B.I. Director Andrew McCabe in the lost list of agency officials fired by Trumpâs government. The right-wing frame this as swamp draining, ridding the agencies of political activists among their ranks. The left-wing are more cautious, wanting transparency to ensure a semblance of justice. These narratives require questions as we move forward.
(You can read the publicly released texts here.)

Thanks for reading!
Bailey T. Steen is a journalist, designer and film critic residing in the heart of Victoria, Australia. Heâs also proud Putin Puppet⢠on occasion.
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Cheers, darlings!! đ