UNITED STATES—FBI agent Peter Strzok, 48, was fired on Friday, August 10 for anti-Trump texts he exchanged with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page. Strzok and Page were reportedly having an affair, when they exchanged messages. Page left the bureau earlier this year. Strzok was an FBI employee for 21 years, and he was recently involved with the Russia probe and Hillary Clinton email investigation.
On Monday, August 13, Strzok’s attorney Atian Goelman, released a statement that said, “The decision to fire Special Agent Strzok is not only a departure from typical bureau practice, but also contradicts Director Wray’s testimony to Congress and his assurances that the FBI intended to follow its regular process in this and all personal matters.”
Goelman added, “The decision should be deeply troubling to all Americans. A lengthy investigation and multiple rounds of Congressional testimony failed to produce a shred of evidence that Special Agent Strzok’s personal views ever affected his work.” In the trial that took place last month, Strzok reportedly insisted that his personal opinions had no impact on his work.
Republican Congressman Darell Issa told Fox News reporters, “Hooray for an agency who finally did something right, which is recognize there’s no place in the FBI for somebody who’s biases show that they were not willing to be fair and that, in fact, they compromised the very integrity of the FBI.”
President Trump took to Twitter on Monday to say, “Agent Peter Strzok was just fired from the FBI – finally. The 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 – I just fight back!”
Strzok tweeted a photo of his attorney’s statement on Monday, and said that he was “Deeply saddened by this decision. It has been an honor to serve my country and work with the fine men and women of the FBI.”
He included a link to a GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/peterstrzok in his tweet, the page reads:
“All funds raised on this GoFundMe will be put into a trust dedicated to covering Pete’s hefty – and growing – legal costs and his lost income.” The GoFundMe page has already raised $252,000 of its $350,000 goal as of Tuesday, August 14.
Written By Katie Trojano
