A defiant Peter Strzok said the scrutiny he is facing over his anti-Trump text messages amounts to “just another victory notch in Putin’s belt,” according to the FBI official’s remarks prepared to be delivered before House committees Thursday morning.
Strzok, who is slated to testify in a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight Committee Thursday, has been in political crosshairs for months over revelations of anti-Trump text messages exchanged with his lover, and former bureau colleague, Lisa Page.
Strzok will say in his opening statement, obtained by the Associated Press, that he has never allowed personal opinions to affect his work, that he knew information during the campaign that had the potential to damage then-candidate Donald Trump but never contemplated leaking it to the press, and that recent congressional focus on him is misguided and plays into “our enemies’ campaign to tear America apart.”
Strzok’s messages were first revealed by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. The latest text, which was revealed in the inspector general’s report on the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email investigation, showed Strzok vowing to “stop” Trump from becoming president.- READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Embattled FBI official Peter Strzok was “smug” and “laughed off” questions during his closed-door congressional interview this week, though also told lawmakers he regrets sending the anti-Trump texts that made him the poster child for bureau bias, congressional sources tell Fox News.
Strzok spoke behind closed doors before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, in his first congressional appearance following revelations of numerous anti-Trump messages he exchanged with bureau colleague Lisa Page during the 2016 campaign.
“Strzok was smug, defiant, and laughed off a lot of questions,” one congressional source told Fox News following the interview. The source also echoed earlier reports that Strzok refused to answer some questions on the advice of counsel.
Another congressional source, though, told Fox News that Strzok “said he regretted sending the texts.”
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