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Peter Strzok Was Escorted From FBI Headquarters

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Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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FBI official Peter Strzok was escorted from bureau headquarters on Friday amid a disciplinary review of anti-Trump text messages he exchanged with another FBI official, his attorney said in a statement Tuesday.

“Just as he has been for the last 20 years, Pete Strzok remains a proud FBI agent who wants to continue working to keep the American people safe,” said Strzok’s attorney, Aitan Goelman.

Goelman said that Strzok remains an FBI employee. It is unclear if he will be fired soon or whether his access to FBI headquarters was restricted. (RELATED: Five FBI Officials Referred For Disciplinary Review Over Anti-Trump Texts)

The Department of Justice’s inspector general (IG) referred Strzok and four other FBI officials to the bureau for disciplinary action for politically-charged text messages they sent in 2016 and 2017.

As the FBI’s deputy chief of counterintelligence, Strzok was the bureau’s lead investigator on the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. He joined Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team shortly after it was formed on May 17, 2017.

Strzok was removed from he investigation in July after the IG discovered a slew of anti-Trump text messages that Strzok exchanged with FBI attorney Lisa Page.

Page resigned from the FBI last month.

The IG released a report on Thursday that revealed that Strzok sent a text message on Aug. 8, 2016 that said “we’ll stop” Donald Trump from being elected president.

The IG report said the text message and others that Strzok exchanged with Page was “indicative of a biased state of mind but, even more seriously, implies a willingness to take official action to impact the presidential candidate’s electoral prospects.”

In his statement, Goelman said Strzok has been put through a “highly questionable” disciplinary review process.

“Pete has complied with every FBI procedure, including being escorted from the building as part of the ongoing examination process,” he said. “Pete has steadfastly played by the rules and respected the process, and yet he continues to be the target of unfounded personal attacks, political games and inappropriate information leaks.”

“All of this seriously calls into question the impartiality of the disciplinary process, which now appears tainted by political influence,” Goelman  continued.

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