Special Counsel Robert Mueller removed FBI agent Peter Strzok, deputy head of the agency's counter-intelligence team, from his investigation into alleged Trump campaign involvement in Russian election meddling efforts after Strzok was caught exchanging anti-Trump text messages with a colleague.
"Immediately upon learning of the allegations, the Special Counsel's Office removed Peter Strzok from the investigation," said a Mueller representative, noting that Strzok's conversation partner, Lisa Page, had already "completed her brief detail [with the Russia investigation] and had returned to the FBI weeks before our office was aware of the allegations."
President Trump tweeted and retweeted repeatedly on the news Sunday morning, arguing that because Strzok was central to the probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, "it all starts to make sense" that Clinton was not prosecuted.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crimeSpeed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monumentsSpeed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seatspeed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring pushSpeed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additionsSpeed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein filesSpeed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oilSpeed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymanderSpeed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
