Republican South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry brought posters showing blown up text messages between adulterous FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page to a Wednesday Judiciary Committee hearing.
Special Counsel John Durham, who is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, found that Bureau officials acted with “confirmation bias” when investigating Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign for alleged ties to Russia. Republicans have argued that the confirmation bias Durham found was political bias from FBI brass in favor of Hillary Clinton. Fry referenced text messages between Strzok and Page, who were having an affair, in which they discussed their opposition Trump.
“Your office discovered text messages between Strzok and Lisa Page, who was a special assistant to the FBI [Deputy] Director McCabe, expressing strong bias against candidate Trump,” Fry said. “For the record, let me read aloud. This was generated by staff, but this is their text messages. On Aug. 18, 2016, Page texted Strzok, ‘Trump’s not gonna become president right? Right?’ And Strzok responded by saying. ‘No, no he’s not. We’ll stop it.'”
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 21: Special Counsel John Durham testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. Durham was tasked by former Attorney General William Barr and the Trump administration to investigate the origins of the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The FBI fired Strzok in 2018, citing his text messages with Page. The disgraced former agent then filed a lawsuit claiming that he was fired due to political pressure from Trump and that his text messages with Page were protected speech. The suit remains ongoing. Page, who resigned from the Bureau in 2018, is also suing the FBI for releasing her texts with Strzok. (RELATED: ‘Predictable, Sad Ending’: Disgraced FBI Agent Peter Strzok Says Durham Report ‘Didn’t Come Up With Anything’)
Durham testified in a closed-door hearing before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Tuesday afternoon. He discussed potential reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, committee chairman Mike Turner of Ohio and ranking member Jim Himes told reporters.