FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, who has become the target of President Trump and House Republicans’ allegations of corruption in the Russia investigation, will tell House lawmakers that his political biases never affected his work.
“[L]et me be clear, unequivocally and under oath: not once in my 26 years of defending my nation did my personal opinions impact any official action I took,” Strzok said in his opening statement, released ahead of his testimony before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees on Thursday.
Text messages sent between Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page in which they both disparaged then candidate-Donald Trump have become a lightening rod for the president and his congressional allies.
Strzok acknowledged that his testimony may not be enough for lawmakers, but instead focused on his decision to launch and lead the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“In the summer of 2016, I was one of a handful of people who knew the details of Russian election interference and its possible connections with members of the Trump campaign. This information had the potential to derail, and quite possibly, defeat Mr. Trump. But the thought of exposing that information never crossed my mind,” he said.
Strzok concluded: “But the honest truth is that Russian interference in our elections constitutes a grave attack on our democracy. Most disturbingly, it has been wildly successful — sowing discord in our nation and shaking faith in our institutions.”
Strzok also took a swing at Congress for holding the hearing, saying it “is just another victory notch in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s belt and another milestone in our enemies’ campaign to tear America apart.”
Strzok also revealed that the FBI’s Office of General Counsel gave the committees a list of questions he is now able to answer after he was unable to do so at last month’s closed-door interview.
“I am happy to answer any questions for which I have authorization to answer and where the FBI has directed me not to answer, I will abide by the FBI’s instructions — but let me clear: this is not because I don’t want to answer your questions; if I were permitted to answer, I would,” he explained.
The Justice Department inspector general report, released in June, heavily criticized text messages sent between Strzok and Page, including one in which the former assured the latter that “we’ll stop” Trump from becoming president.
The report said it found no evidence that bias swayed any internal decisions with regards to the Hillary Clinton and Russia investigations — in large part because neither Strzok nor Page ever acted alone when making decisions.
Strzok and Page were briefly detailed to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation before being removed because of their anti-Trump sentiments.
Strzok was demoted to the human resources division and in June was escorted from the bureau’s headquarters amid the ongoing disciplinary investigation.
The IG referred his findings on Strzok to the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which recommends possible disciplinary measures.
Page, who is expected to give a closed-door testimony to the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees on Friday, left the bureau earlier this year.
