Anti-Trump FBI agent Peter Strzok was given a limited security clearance ahead of his testimony before Congress on Thursday, a Justice Department official tells The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The official disclosed Strzok’s security clearance status after Strzok claimed during a joint hearing on Thursday that he has a top secret security clearance.
“You currently have what classification?” Strzok was asked by Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins during a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees.
“I have a top secret clearance with some SCI compartments,” replied Strzok, the former deputy director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division. “SCI” is an acronym for highly classified materials known as Sensitive Compartmented Information.
The statement appeared to be a contradiction to a claim that Attorney General Jeff Sessions made during an interview in June. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]FBI agent Peter Strzok refused Thursday to hand over his text messages to Congress for further investigation, telling the U.S. House of Representatives that the Inspector General had already reviewed the relevant texts and found “no acts of bias.”
Strzok had been the lead agent in both the investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails, and of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He was part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team until he was removed due to the appearance of political bias, thanks to the emergence of anti-Trump text messages he had exchanged with his mistress.
House Judiciary Committee chair Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-LA) pointed out that Congress had independent authority to investigate, and asked Strzok directly: “Will you authorize release of them [the texts] to the United States Congress?” Strzok said: “No, sir.”
Earlier, Stzrok told Goodlatte that the Inspector General had allowed him and his legal counsel to review his text messages with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, and to determine which were work-related. The texts included many statements hostile to Donald Trump and his supporters, and referred to stopping Trump from being elected and impeaching him after he had taken office.– READ MORE
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