Strzok and Page argued that they were illegally targeted in retaliation by the Trump administration after the FBI investigated Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Struzk, a former top counterintelligence expert, was fired by the FBI in 2018 after his political text message exchanges with Page were reported. She criticized Trump while having an affair.
“This outcome marks an important step in addressing the government’s unfair and highly politicized treatment of Pete,” Aitan D. Goleman, Strzok’s lead attorney, said in a statement. Goleman said Strzok will continue to seek reinstatement and back pay in his lawsuit, which alleges that his firing from the FBI violated his free speech and due process rights.
“We will continue to litigate Pete’s constitutional claims to ensure that public employees in the future are protected from adverse employment actions motivated by partisan politics,” Goleman said.
In a statement released through his lawyer, Page said, “While today’s verdict vindicates me, I am hopeful that the law enforcement community will never again politicize the lives of its employees.”
Page’s Arnold & Porter law team, led by Amy Jeffries, said: “As Attorney General, [Merrick] Garland recently testified in response to questions about the settlement, saying the Department of Justice settles cases based on a litigant’s assessment of the likelihood of success and the potential costs of losing. In this case, the evidence was overwhelming that the release of text messages to the press in December 2017 was for partisan political purposes and was unlawful. “This is a matter of the government’s compensation for a violation of law,” the Attorney General explained.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment beyond the court filings.
The text messages between Strzok and Page, which emerged in December 2017, fueled Republican claims that the FBI’s anti-Trump investigation was a driving force behind the Russia investigation and provided fodder for numerous angry tweets and public statements by the then-president and his supporters.
Page left the FBI in 2018 and Strzok was fired in August of that year. Both were tasked with investigating Russian interference in the Trump campaign before the 2016 election and whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton broke the law by using a private email server.
The inspector general’s investigation found no evidence that their opinions influenced their work. The special counsel appointed by President Trump was more critical of the FBI but agreed that investigating Russian interference was legitimate.
Strzok filed a lawsuit in August 2019 alleging he was wrongfully fired for criticizing the president. Page filed suit in December of that year, accusing the FBI and Department of Justice of violating privacy laws by showing reporters documents containing roughly 400 text messages in which the two men discussed their intense dislike of Trump and their fears that he might win the presidential election.
The settlement came after lawyers for the two former employees received permission from the court to separately question Mr. Trump and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray under oath.
President Trump leaves office in October 2023 after publicly bragging about firing FBI officials.
On “The Hugh Hewitt Show” in February 2023, President Trump ousted former FBI Director James B. Comey, former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Strzok and Page, calling them “scumbags trying to overthrow the government.”
Trump added, “They were spying on my campaign and I took them all out. … But … it wasn’t just them, as you know.”
Mr Strzok and Mr Page exchanged messages on their work phones criticising a number of politicians, particularly Mr Trump, whom Mr Strzok derided as “terrible” and a “disaster”.
In August 2016, after Page wrote, “Trump will never be president, right? Right?”, Strzok responded, “No, he will not be president. We will stop it.”
Trump has vowed to take revenge if he is re-elected and regains power over the Justice Department, The Washington Post reported, according to people who have spoken to him. He has privately considered using the government to punish critics and opponents, including by indicting FBI and Justice Department officials, and has publicly considered weaponizing the Justice Department.
House Republicans at the June 4 hearing challenged Garland over reports that a tentative agreement had been reached with Strtzke and Page, with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) citing text messages between the two men criticizing President Trump.
“Are they taking taxpayer money because you decided it was the right thing to do,” Jordan said. “Are they getting paid to go after the president?”
