The FBI 'secret society' Republicans and Fox News are fuming about appears to be a scheduling joke


It sounded pretty nefarious when Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) brought it up on Fox News Tuesday night — a "secret society" at the FBI that an "informant" told him about. Other Republican lawmakers fanned the flames, and some Fox personalities sloshed fuel on the fire, none of them knowing exactly what this "secret society" was but only that it was mentioned in a text message between FBI officials and conservative bêtes noires Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
The text in question, ABC News reported Wednesday night, was from Page, sent on the day after President Trump was elected, and it says this: "Are you even going to give out your calendars? Seems kind of depressing. Maybe it should just be the first meeting of the secret society." The text message is one of more than 1,000 between Page and Strzok that the Justice Department gave the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday, and it "stands alone in the series of messages obtained by ABC News — with no apparent tie to other messages sent before or after it," ABC News said.
Johnson, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, walked back his "secret society" tease Wednesday, saying "that's Strzok and Page's term" and acknowledging he doesn't know what happened at the "off-site" meetings his "whistleblower" told him about. "Everything I take with a grain of salt," he said. "I've heard from an individual that ... there was a group of managers within the FBI that were holding meetings off-site," so "when Strzok and Page had described a secret society, that didn't surprise me because I had corroborating information."
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.
He did not explain why Page and Strzok would have violated the first rule of secret societies: You don't talk about the secret society on government-issued cellphones, not even in obvious jest.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
'The answer isn't to shake faith in the dollar'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
The Week Junior Book Awards 2025 Shortlist Announced
The Week Junior Book Awards have unveiled the 2025 shortlist, celebrating the best in children’s literature across 13 categories.
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs