FBI agent pulled from Mueller investigation called Trump an 'idiot' in text exchanges

Special Counsel Robert Mueller — (Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, the Justice Department turned over to the House Intelligence Committee some 375 text messages between two FBI officials, senior counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page, and according to several news organizations that reported the content of the messages Tuesday night, both FBI officials referred to President Trump as an "idiot" between Aug. 16, 2015, and Dec. 1, 2016. Strzok was removed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign's relationship with Russia over the summer, immediately after such messages were discovered; Page had already returned to the FBI.

Page called Trump a "loathsome human" as well as an "idiot," and Strzok also called Trump "awful." Most of the private text exchanges were in reference to Trump's appearances on TV; the colleagues were having an extramarital affair, according to Fox News. On election night, Strzok called Trump's apparent win "terrifying," and both officials said at one point during the presidential race they hoped Hillary Clinton would beat him. Strzok was assigned to the Clinton email investigation, and Republicans say these text exchanges prove he was biased toward Clinton and against Trump.

Strzok, who identified himself a "conservative Dem" in a March 2016 exchange, also called Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) an "idiot like Trump" and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) a "douche," panned former Attorney General Eric Holder, and suggested he would vote for Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), then Trump ("He was pretty much calling for death for [NSA leaker Edward] Snowden. I'm a single-issue voter. ;) Espionage Machine Party"). Page said Kasich was rumored to be gay and said she "booed at the TV" when Holder was on.

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Republicans are pouncing on the exchanges, but "the last of the messages are from last December," The Associated Press notes, "so it's unclear how helpful they will be to Trump allies seeking to prove that Mueller's probe was tainted by bias." You can read the exchanges at Fox News.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.