WASHINGTON — Two former FBI agents settled court cases The Justice Department on Friday settled claims that their privacy rights were violated when the department leaked to the news media text messages they sent to each other disparaging the former president. Donald Trump.
Peter Strzoka former top counterintelligence agent who played a key role in the investigation Russian interference in the 2016 elections, settled the case for $1.2 million. Lisa Page, the FBI attorney who exchanged text messages with Strzok, also reached a separate plea deal. Court documents reviewed by The Associated Press show he was owed $800,000.
The two sued the Justice Department over a 2017 episode in which the officials sent each other, including sharing with reporters copies of text messages describing Trump as a “stupid” and “disgusting person.” Trump’s victory is “terrible”.
Strzok, who also investigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, was fired after the messages came to light. Page resigned. They later sued that department officials leaked the texts to spread a false narrative of bias against Trump at the FBI and boost the department’s standing with Trump after his vicious attacks on then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The Justice Department’s inspector general’s reports into Clinton’s email handling and the Trump-Russia probe found no evidence that partisan bias within the FBI influenced investigative decisions.
Strzok sued the department over his termination, claiming that the FBI bowed to Trump’s “relentless pressure” in firing him and violated his First Amendment rights. Those constitutional claims are still ongoing.
“This result is a critical step forward in addressing the government’s unfair and highly politicized treatment of Pete,” Strzok’s attorney, Aitan Goelman, said in announcing the settlement Friday.
“It protects the privacy interests of all government employees, no matter how important it is to him. We will continue to litigate Pete’s constitutional claims to ensure future public employees are protected from adverse employment actions stemming from partisan politics,” he said.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment Friday.
“While I am vindicated by this outcome, I hope that our judicial institutions will never again play politics with the lives of their employees,” he said.
“The evidence is overwhelming that the release of messages to the press in December 2017 was politically motivated and unlawful,” his lawyers said in a statement.