Judge rejects ex-FBI agent’s claim he was illegally fired for disparaging Trump in texts
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 A federal judge has thrown out a former FBI agent’s claims that he was illegally fired after sending disparaging text messages to a colleague about President Donald Trump.
By Eric Tucker And Michael Kunzelman The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 A federal judge has thrown out a former FBI agent’s claims that he was illegally fired after sending disparaging text messages to a colleague about President Donald Trump.
, a former top counterintelligence agent who played a crucial role in the investigation into , alleged in a federal lawsuit that the FBI caved to 鈥渦nrelenting pressure鈥 from Trump when it fired him and that he was unfairly punished for expressing his political opinions.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Tuesday rejected Strzok’s claim that his August 2018 firing violated his free speech rights. The judge concluded that the FBI鈥檚 interest in avoiding the appearance of bias in an ongoing investigation outweighed Strzok’s interest in expressing his opinions about political candidates on his FBI phone.
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Jackson also said Strzok didn’t present any evidence that the FBI treated him more harshly than they would have treated somebody in similar circumstances because Trump was the subject of his critical text messages.
鈥淓ach of the FBI officials deposed maintained that given plaintiff鈥檚 rank and his role in the two investigations, and the appearance of bias that permeated the messages, the situation was unprecedented, and there were no comparators,鈥 she wrote.
Strzok’s attorneys didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment.
The had sought to block the suit by asking a judge to rule in the government鈥檚 favor without a trial, saying in a court filing last year that Strzok was fired based 鈥渟olely on his misconduct and its impact on the FBI.鈥
鈥淭he reason for Peter Strzok鈥檚 dismissal from the FBI is clear and not subject to genuine dispute: the FBI dismissed Mr. Strzok because he exchanged politically charged text messages on his FBI-issued device about individuals who were centrally connected to high-profile investigations,鈥 government lawyers wrote in court filings.
Strzok, who helped lead FBI investigations into and ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, was removed from special counsel team in 2017 after texts with FBI lawyer Lisa Page were discovered by the Justice Department鈥檚 office of inspector general.
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Many of the texts, on FBI-issued cell phones, were bitingly critical of and included insults like 鈥渋diot鈥 and “loathsome human.鈥
Trump has for years pointed to the messages to advance his argument that the FBI was biased against him and that the Russia investigation was driven by political animus, all the while lambasting Strzok and Page by name on social media and even suggesting that Strzok should be charged with 鈥渢reason.鈥 Strzok has denied that his political opinions influenced his work or investigative decisions.
over separate claims arising from the department鈥檚 decision to leak the text messages to reporters. They alleged that the disclosures were meant to promote a false narrative of anti-Trump bias within the FBI and to elevate the department鈥檚 status with Trump after his relentless attacks on .
