Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, two FBI agents who exchanged texts mocking President Trump, also made derogatory comments about other officials from both political parties, including former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley who was called a “douche.”
The messages were disclosed in a long-anticipated report from the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General, released Thursday.
[Trump: Peter Strzok should’ve been fired ‘a long time ago’]
According to the report, Strzok and Page, who were engaged in an extramarital affair, sent at least five text messages referencing other political and government officials.
Strzok worked on the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election before he was removed from the latter probe. Page was a lawyer at the bureau, but resigned from her post there last month.
It’s unclear which of the two sent the messages.
One text from Oct. 14, 2015, read, “And Martin O’Malley’s a douche.”
O’Malley, a Democrat, served as the governor of Maryland and ran for president in 2016.
Another text sent Nov. 1, 2015, took aim at House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
“And I hope Paul Ryan fails and crashes in a blaze of glory,” the message read, according to the inspector general’s report.
Page and Strzok appeared to be more sympathetic to then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
“Poor Kasich,” one message from March 4, 2016, said. “He’s the only sensible man up there.”
“Exactly re Kasich. And he has ZERO appeal,” the response read.
The March 4 messages were exchanged the day of the Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News.
In texts from July 27, 2016, the FBI officials expressed disdain for former Attorney General Eric Holder.
“Oh God, Holder! Turn [the television] off turn it off turn it off!!!!” one message said.
“Yeah, I saw him yesterday and booed at the tv,” read another.
The Justice Department’s inspector general said Page and Strzok “told us that these additional text messages were relevant because they reflected that Trump was not singled out by them for criticism or criticized for partisan reasons.”
Strzok and Page have been at the center of controversy after their derogatory messages about Trump were revealed.
The president and his allies on Capitol Hill have pointed to the texts as evidence of an anti-Trump bias at the FBI, which was investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia before special counsel Robert Mueller was tapped to lead the probe.
A text exchange revealed in the inspector general’s report Thursday further raised concerns about their alleged bias.
“[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!” Page wrote in a message to Strzok in August 2016.
“No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it,” Strzok replied.
