New Strzok, Page texts suggest coordination in Russia probe
Strzok's text refers to inter-agency meeting.
President Trump questioned why Peter Strzok was still working at the FBI Monday morning, following the resignation of his “lover” Lisa Page and former top FBI lawyer James Baker.
“Lisa Page, who may hold the record for the most Emails in the shortest period of time (to her Lover, Peter S), and attorney Baker, are out at the FBI as part of the Probers getting caught? Why is Peter S still there? What a total mess. Our Country has to get back to Business!” Trump tweeted Monday morning.
Page, who worked for a 45-day detail on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, returned to work in the FBI’s Office of General Counsel in July 2017. An FBI spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that Page “resigned” Friday to “pursue other opportunities.”
Page and Strzok have come under scrutiny for their anti-Trump text messages. Strzok also worked on Mueller’s team, up until August 2017, when he was reassigned to work in the FBI’s human resources division following the revelations that the two were romantically involved and exchanged politically charged text messages.
“Immediately upon learning of the allegations, the Special Counsel’s Office removed Peter Strzok from the investigation. Lisa Page completed her brief detail and had returned to the FBI weeks before our office was aware of the allegations,” Peter Carr, spokesman for the special counsel’s office, told Fox News in an email in December.
As of last week, sources told Fox News that Strzok was still working at the FBI in human resources.
The latest batch of the 50,000+ text messages exchanged between Strzok-Page released to congressional committees show the two FBI officials suggesting they move their “work-related” communications to personal accounts and devices—such as “imsg,” the Apple texting app; and “gmail,” or Google Mail.
Despite requests from congressional committees, the FBI will not collect the messages on personal accounts between Strzok and Page, according to an FBI letter obtained by Fox News Friday.
An FBI official wrote in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, that FBI employees are “required to adhere to recordkeeping policies in place where communications constitute records under the Federal Records Act,” and added though, that “the FBI is not otherwise obligated to collect and/or retain all communications between its employees.”
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“Thus, the FBI has not requested from Ms. Page or Mr. Strzok any information from their personal email accounts, nor has the FBI conducted searches of non-FBI-issued communications devices or non-FBI email accounts associated with Mr. Strzok or Ms. Page,” the FBI acting assistant director of the FBI’s office of congressional affairs, Charles Thorley, wrote.
Grassley penned a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, in response to Thorley, urging the bureau to collect those communications to “shed more light” on the way the FBI handled certain investigations.
Also, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has investigated whether the DOJ or FBI may have deleted text messages between Strzok and Page, according to GOP sources who spoke with members of the IG’s team, but so far, has not found evidence that officials from either agency deleted those text messages. It is unclear at this point whether the office is still investigating the matter, or whether technical glitches may instead be at issue.
Also last week, Baker, a confidante of former FBI Director James Comey, also left the bureau. Baker was a top lawyer at the FBI, but was reassigned last year following a Justice Department investigation on suspicion of leaking classified information about the unverified Trump dossier. Baker was reassigned as an adviser to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Comey touted Baker’s work on Twitter.
“A great public servant retired from the FBI today. Jim Baker’s integrity and commitment to the rule of law have benefitted our country through 5 presidents, of both parties. We are fortunate he and so many others choose to devote their lives to justice,” Comey tweeted on Friday.
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