FBI dismisses Peter Strzok following investigation into anti-Trump texts

Senior FBI agent Peter Strzok has been dismissed from the bureau, his lawyer told The Washington Post on Monday.

Strzok was fired after the FBI's inspector general found he had sent text messages to FBI lawyer Lisa Page that revealed antipathy toward President Trump. In 2016, Strzok told Page "we'll stop" Trump from becoming president. Strzok was involved with the investigation into Russia's election interference, but he testified last month that his personal dislike for Trump did not influence his work; an internal investigation found no evidence otherwise. That hasn't stopped Trump from holding Strzok up as an example of the "illegitimate witch hunt" against him, however, as the president has claimed against evidence that the FBI has acted with bias against the Trump administration.

FBI disciplinary officials had decided Strzok, a 22-year veteran of the agency, should be demoted and suspended, but the bureau's deputy director ordered him fired Friday instead. The New York Times notes that "it is not clear why [Strzok] ... was dismissed at this time," given the text messages have been public knowledge for months. Strzok's attorney said his termination went against months of assurances that Strzok would not be punished beyond the agency's ordinary disciplinary standards. Read more at The Washington Post.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.