A sign outside the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building on May 4, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Patrick Semansky/AP
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Patrick Semansky/AP
WASHINGTON — Two former FBI officials reached a settlement with the Justice Department on Friday, resolving charges that the department violated their privacy rights after leaking disparaging text messages they sent to each other to the news media.
Peter Strzok, a former senior counterintelligence agent who played a key role in the 2016 investigation into Russian election interference, settled for $1.2 million. Lisa Page, the FBI attorney who exchanged text messages with Strzok, also reached a separate settlement. Court records reviewed by The Associated Press show she will receive $800,000 in damages.
The two sued the Justice Department over a 2017 incident in which officials shared with reporters copies of text messages they sent each other that included describing Trump as an “idiot” and a “disgusting human being” and saying Trump’s Prospects A Trump victory is “scary.”
Strzok also investigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and was fired after the text messages were exposed. Page resigned. They later filed a lawsuit alleging department officials leaked the text messages to promote a false narrative of anti-Trump bias within the FBI and elevate it in the wake of Trump’s relentless attacks on then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The department’s status in Trump’s mind.
A Justice Department inspector general report examining the handling of Clinton emails and the Trump-Russia investigation found no evidence that partisanship within the FBI influenced investigative decisions.
Strzok is also suing the department over his firing, claiming the FBI caved to Trump’s “relentless pressure” and violated his First Amendment rights when it fired him. These constitutional claims remain unresolved.
“This outcome is a critical step toward addressing the government’s unfair and highly politicized treatment of Pitt,” Strzok’s attorney, Eitan Gorman, said in a statement announcing the settlement Friday.
“This is important to him, but also upholds the privacy rights of all government employees. We will continue to litigate Pete’s constitutional claims to ensure that future public servants are protected from adverse employment actions driven by partisan politics,” he added.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment Friday.
“While this outcome vindicates me, I remain fervently hopeful that our judiciary will never again play politics with the lives of employees,” Page said in a statement.
“Substantial evidence demonstrates that the release of text messages to the media in December 2017 was for partisan political purposes and was unlawful,” her attorney said in a statement.
