Justice Dept. settles with ex-FBI officials over leak of anti-Trump texts

Strzok and Page said they were illegally targeted for retribution by the Trump administration after the FBI investigated Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Strzok, a former top counterintelligence expert, was fired by the FBI in 2018 after news reports surfaced of his politically charged text messages with Page, in which the pair criticized Trump while having an affair.

“This outcome is a critical step forward in addressing the government’s unfair and highly politicized treatment of Pete,” lead Strzok attorney Aitan D. Goelman said in a statement. Goelman said Strzok will continue to seek reinstatement and back pay in ongoing litigation over claims that removing him from the FBI violated his free speech and due process rights.

“We will continue to litigate Pete’s constitutional claims to ensure that, in the future, public servants are protected from adverse employment actions motivated by partisan politics,” Goelman said.

In a statement released by her attorneys, Page said, “While I have been vindicated by this result, my fervent hope remains that our institutions of justice will never again play politics with the lives of their employees.”

Page’s Arnold & Porter law firm team, led by Amy Jeffress, added, “As Attorney General [Merrick] Garland recently testified in response to questions about this settlement, the Department settles cases based on the litigators’ assessment of the chances of success and the potential costs of losing the case. Here, the evidence was overwhelming that the release of text messages to the press in December 2017 was for partisan political purposes and was against the law. As the Attorney General explained: ‘It’s a question of the government paying for violating the law.’”

A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment outside of court filings.

Separate agreements signed by the respective plaintiffs and senior trial counsel Bradley P. Humphreys with the Justice Department’s federal programs branch stated that they were entered “solely for the purposes of compromising disputed claims without further legal proceedings and avoiding the expense and risk of litigation,” and were not an admission by either party.

The text exchanges between Strzok and Page, which came to light in December 2017, fueled Republican allegations that FBI bias against Trump drove the Russia investigation, and became fodder for scores of angry tweets and public statements by the then-president and his supporters.

Page left the FBI in 2018, and Strzok was fired that August. Both were assigned before the 2016 election to investigate Russian interference into Trump’s campaign and whether former secretary of state Hillary Clinton broke the law by using a private email server.

An inspector general’s investigation found no evidence that their opinions affected their work; a special counsel appointed by Trump was more critical of the FBI but agreed that investigating Russian interference was warranted.

Strzok filed suit in August 2019, claiming he was unfairly terminated for criticizing the president. Page filed suit that December, accusing the FBI and the Justice Department of violating the Privacy Act by showing reporters a document containing nearly 400 texts between her and Strzok, in which the pair discussed their intense dislike of Trump and their fear that he might win the presidency.

The settlement came after attorneys for the two former employees won court approval to question Trump and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray separately under oath.

Trump was deposed in October 2023, after publicly bragging about firing FBI officials.

On “The Hugh Hewitt Show” in February 2023, Trump stood by pushing out former FBI director James B. Comey, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, and Strzok and Page, calling them “scum” who were “trying to do an overthrow.”

Trump added, “They spied on my campaign, and I got rid of them all. … But … it was more than them, and you know that.”

Strzok and Page used work phones to exchange messages critical of numerous politicians, especially Trump, whom Strzok derided as “abysmal” and a “disaster.”

In August 2016, after Page wrote that Trump was “not ever going to become president, right? Right?!” Strzok responded: “No. No he’s not. We’ll stop it.”

Trump has vowed to seek revenge if he wins election again and regains control of the Justice Department, according to people who have talked to him, The Washington Post has reported. He has privately discussed using the government to punish critics and opponents, including prosecuting officials at the FBI and the Justice Department, and mused publicly about weaponizing the department.

House Republicans challenged Garland at a June 4 hearing over reports that a tentative deal with Strzok and Page had been reached. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) quoted from text messages the pair sent criticizing Trump.

“They are getting money from the taxpayers because you decided that is the right thing to do?” Jordan said. “You go after the president and you are rewarded?”