Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page is suing the FBI and Department of Justice, alleging that the government’s publication of her salacious text messages with anti-Trump ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok constituted a breach of the Federal Privacy Act.
In the complaint filed Tuesday, the 39-year-old Page said she suffered numerous damages because of the disclosure, including a “permanent loss of earning capacity due to reputational damage” and “the cost of therapy to cope with unwanted national media exposure and harassment” at the hands of President Trump.
Page’s complaint also sought reimbursement for “the cost of childcare during and transportation to multiple investigative reviews and appearances before Congress,” the “cost of paying a data-privacy service to protect her personal information,” and attorney’s fees.
On Dec. 12, 2017, Page said in the complaint, “DOJ and/or FBI officials disclosed” her sensitive text messages “directly to a select group of reporters to ensure they would become public.” Page alleged that after discovery, she would be able to prove that senior officials knew they were violating the law, and that their conduct was “willful and intentional.”
Among those texts was a July 2016 message in which Page wrote to Strzok, “She [Hillary Clinton] just has to win now. I’m not going to lie, I got a flash of nervousness yesterday about Trump.” Within days, the FBI began investigating then-candidate Trump’s alleged connections to Russia.
And, after Trump made a joke at a presidential debate concerning his hand size, Page wrote, “This man cannot be president.” Strzok, meanwhile, called Trump a “douche,” mocked Trump supporters, and said he was “scared.”
Page’s lawsuit lamented that Trump’s tweets about her texts “have been retweeted and favorited millions of times.” Trump, Page went on, has “targeted” her “by name in more than 40 tweets and dozens of interviews, press conferences, and statements from the White House, fueling unwanted media attention that has radically altered her day-to-day life.” – READ MORE