The former FBI lawyer who exchanged anti-Trump text messages with a colleague with whom she was having an extramarital affair has been subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee and will appear before the panel on Wednesday in a closed-door joint session with the House Oversight Committee.
Lisa Page’s hearing will take place one day before Peter Strzok, the FBI agent with whom she had a relationship, is due to appear before the same two House panels, a House Judiciary Committee aide confirmed with the Washington Examiner.
The texts between Page, who resigned from the FBI in May, and Strzok were closely examined in a report by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General that was released in June. The report detailed the watchdog’s investigation into the FBI’s handling of its Hillary Clinton probe during the 2016 presidential campaign, as well as the federal government’s ongoing look at whether President Trump’s 2016 campaign or transition team colluded with Russia.
In one particular text exchange that has riled up Republicans, Page wrote to Strzok in August 2016, “[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!”
“No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it,” Strzok replied.
In a letter sent to Congress previewing the report, Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the Strzok-Page scandal hurt the FBI’s standing with the public because federal agents appeared biased, particularly as both of them were assigned to work on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. However, Horowitz insisted the controversy did not affect Mueller’s probe.
Amy Jeffress, Page’s attorney, told CNN that she had been trying to arrange for her client to give voluntary testimony.
“We asked the committee staff to explain the scope of the investigation and provide sufficient notice that would allow her to prepare, which are normal conditions for congressional committees, but these committees have not followed the normal process,” Jeffress said. “The FBI has agreed to provide Lisa with her notes and other documents to allow her to prepare, but they have not provided those documents to date, so we are still waiting to work out a reasonable date for her interview.”
Strzok’s deposition on Thursday is expected to focus on his experience working on the federal investigations into Clinton’s private email server and any contacts Trump associates had with Russia during the 2016 campaign and the transition period.
