The FBI agent at the center of controversial anti-Trump text messages has been invited by the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee to appear before the panel.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Peter Strzok would be able to “address directly allegations about his conduct and activities” as well as share his knowledge of Russia’s “active measures” to interference in U.S. election.
[Also read: Bob Goodlatte warns Peter Strzok to agree to testify next week because ‘the subpoena is coming’]
“We would like to extend an invitation to Mr. Strzok to appear for a voluntary interview as part of our ongoing probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election,” Schiff wrote in a Tuesday letter to Strzok’s lawyer, Aitan Goelman.
The letter was obtained Wednesday by the Washington Examiner.
Strzok, a 20-year veteran of the FBI, has already offered to appear voluntarily before the House Judiciary Committee and “any other Congressional committee that invites him.”
Goelman said his client was “escorted” from the FBI’s headquarters in Washington amid an ongoing disciplinary process.
It is unclear if that means this week or last week, and as of Tuesday, Strzok was still an FBI employee — but he had been moved to the Human Resources department in response to fallout of the politically charged messages he exchanged with a fellow FBI employee.
“All of this seriously calls into question the impartiality of the disciplinary process, which now appears stained by political influence,” said Goelman on Tuesday.
Strzok was the deputy assistant director of the counterintelligence division of the FBI, helped lead the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, and led the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Strzok was also part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation from June to July 2017, but he was removed after the special counsel became aware of the messages exchanged with Lisa Page, which were highly critical of then-candidate Donald Trump.
Last week’s watchdog report on the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email investigation revealed additional texts critical of Trump.
The Justice Department’s inspector general referred his findings on Strzok to the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which recommends possible disciplinary measures.
However, the IG said no evidence was found that Strzok’s bias affected the FBI’s investigation.
Strzok’s messages have become a lightning rod for Republican lawmakers, who say his actions tainted both the Clinton and Russia investigations.
[Byron York: How political bias infected FBI Trump, Clinton investigations]
Schiff said the committee told Goelman in January they wanted to interview Strzok, but “for reasons that remain unclear,” the Republican majority never offered him an opportunity to testify.
“We would welcome the opportunity to finally hear from Mr. Strzok,” Schiff wrote, offering him a closed-door interview that would cover both unclassified and classified information.
Then, the unclassified parts of the the transcript could be released to the public only if Strzok agrees.
In April, the House Intelligence Committee concluded its investigation into Russian election interference. The Republican-majority released a final report that concluded that there was no “collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.”
