A seven-figure settlement between the Justice Department and a disgraced former FBI agent appeared to convey government employees would benefit from “anything that will hurt the Trump campaign.”
If Attorney General Merrick Garland’s aim was to tamp down on allegations of a weaponized federal government, a Friday settlement from the DOJ did little to help that case. After their affair became a matter of public record, and the subject of a stage play, former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page walked away with padded wallets in a decision viewed by many as little more than President Joe Biden’s administration laundering $1.2 million.
The New York Times reported Friday that attorneys for Strzok, who had been fired from the agency after his anti-President Donald Trump texts with his then-lover, then-FBI attorney Page, had been exposed, had confirmed the sum he received in the settlement stemming back to a 2019 suit that asserted his privacy had been violated by sharing those messages.
By the newspapers account, “Their texts incited a political firestorm after the Justice Department in December 2017 invited reporters to review them at night before handing them over to Congress. Then a senior F.B.I. counterintelligence agent who helped oversee the bureau’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia in 2016, Mr. Strzok exchanged inflammatory messages with Ms. Page, a bureau lawyer involved in the inquiry. Republicans seized on the texts to try to discredit the investigation.”
Hamlin Lincoln Law Institute Director of Litigation Ted Frank boiled down the report and posted to X, “Biden administration launders $1.2M payment to Peter Strzok (and likely a similar payment to Lisa Page) through settlement of likely-doomed lawsuit.”
Commentator Katie Pavlich boiled down the decision to a matter of election year politics as she asserted, “Strzok was going to lose this lawsuit because like a dum dum he sent the ‘insurance policy’ text messages on a government device, where he knew he had no privacy rights. Biden’s DOJ issues this settlement just in case Trump were to win in November. Corrupt.”
Strzok was going to lose this lawsuit because like a dum dum he sent the “insurance policy” text messages on a government device, where he knew he had no privacy rights. Biden’s DOJ issues this settlement just in case Trump were to win in November.
Corrupt. https://t.co/R2LFlw65Nf
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) July 26, 2024
Heaping on the criticism of the move from the Justice Department as well as the coverage, Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York added his feedback on the Times headline that read, “Justice Dept. Settles Lawsuit With Former F.B.I. Officials Targeted by Trump.”
“Wouldn’t this headline be more accurate if it said ‘Officials Who Targeted Trump’?” he asked on X.
York wasn’t alone in asking questions along those lines as Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) posited from his personal account, “Why do taxpayers owe Pete Strzok $1.2m for banging a co-worker and bringing politics to work? I know a lot of people who would do this for free.”
To the congressman’s point, “HARDFACTS” co-host Jeff Carlson contended, “Strzok was fired for cause. His lawsuit was going nowhere. This was a payoff. And the purchase of Strzok’s silence. The DOJ needs to be gutted. Top to bottom. Like virtually all of our federal agencies, simple reform won’t work.”
Exactly @ByronYork …how clearer can they say if necessary the FIX is in pic.twitter.com/OZb4zfnBBS
— ️ (@AmRen1776) July 27, 2024
Strzok was fired for cause. His lawsuit was going nowhere. This was a payoff. And the purchase of Strzok’s silence.
The DOJ needs to be gutted. Top to bottom. Like virtually all of our federal agencies, simple reform won’t work. https://t.co/yjRsKstW7p
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) July 27, 2024
Never forget that all of the reasons Strzok and McCabe cited as probable cause to open a full investigation turned out to be wrong. Unsubstantiated and wrong. “He hurt our feelings” isn’t a proper predicate to unleash the full investigative powers of the FBI on a citizen, either.
— Jason Beale (@jabeale) July 27, 2024
Meanwhile, Carlson’s co-host Mahncke sounded off, “This might be a good time to remind everyone that the release of the text messages between Strzok and Page (for which Strzok just received $1.2 million), crucially revealed that the FBI was secretly going after Trump *before* they initiated the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.”
This might be a good time to remind everyone that the release of the text messages between Strzok and Page (for which Strzok just received $1.2 million), crucially revealed that the FBI was secretly going after Trump *before* they initiated the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. https://t.co/NbIbGxMMOe pic.twitter.com/b6HC2pq67s
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) July 27, 2024
As it happened, Strzok maintained two other active suits against the Justice Department as he alleged his constitutional rights had been violated and his termination was politically motivated. He aims to be reinstated to the agency to reap full retirement benefits.
They’re telling all current government employees that they’ll be rewarded for anything that will hurt the Trump campaign.
— Merchan’s Folly (@Spilly1173358) July 27, 2024
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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