FBI agent defiantly rejects bias charges
CONGRESS HEARING
WASHINGTON • An embattled FBI agent whose antitrump text messages exposed the Justice Department to claims of institutional bias launched a vigorous defence Thursday at an extraordinary congressional hearing that devolved into shouting matches and finger-pointing.
Peter Strzok testified publicly for the first time since being removed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team after the discovery of derogatory text messages he traded with an FBI lawyer. He told lawmakers the texts in the run-up to the 2016 election reflected personal views that he had never acted on, angrily rejecting Republican allegations that he had set out to stop Donald Trump from becoming president.
The hearing brought a defiant Strzok face-to-face with Republican lawmakers who for months have held up his texts as the embodiment of anti-trump bias within the FBI. In breaking his monthslong silence, Strzok vigorously defended his handling of two hugely sensitive investigations in which he played a leading role: inquiries into Hillary Clinton’s email use and possible co-ordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.
He insisted the FBI had good cause two years ago to start investigating whether the Trump campaign was working with the Kremlin amid allegations of what he described as a Russian offer of assistance to a Trump campaign associate. He characterized the anti-trump text messages as personal communications that he never envisioned becoming public and denied that they had swayed his actions.
Strzok insisted that a much-discussed August 2016 text in which he said “we’ll stop” a Trump presidency followed Trump’s denigration of the family of a dead U.S. service member. He said the text, written off-the-cuff, reflected his belief that the American public would not stomach such “horrible, disgusting behaviour” by the Republican candidate.
But, he added, “It was in no way — unequivocally — any suggestion that me, the FBI, would take any action whatsoever to improperly impact the electoral process for any candidate.”
The hearing was punctuated by chaos as Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte said Strzok needed to answer Republicans’ questions.