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WASHINGTON, DC — FBI agent Peter Strzok, whose anti-Trump texts lead to accusations of partisan bias, has finished testifying to house lawmakers — and suffice to say he didn’t pull any punches. Strzok was grilled for hours Thursday by lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing is titled, “Oversight of FBI and DOJ Actions Surrounding the 2016 Election.”
Strzok, who helped lead FBI investigations into Hillary Clinton’s email use and potential coordination between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign, exchanged texts with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page. The dozens of messages revolved around their mutual unhappiness over the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. They also talked about working for special counsel Robert Mueller.
On Thursday, House Republicans made an assortment of incendiary accusations, including that his texts proved he was biased to clear Hillary Clinton and target Donald Trump.
Here are Strzok’s five most fiery responses.
1. “My presumption [was] based on that horrible, disgusting behavior that the American population would not elect somebody demonstrating that behavior to be president of the United States,” Strzok said, referring to when Trump insulted the immigrant relatives of slain war hero Khizr Muazzam Khan. “It was in no way, unequivocally, any suggestion that me, the FBI, would take any action whatsoever to improperly impact the electoral process for any candidate. “
2. Immediately following that remark, Strzok continued to defend his character and vehemently denied letting his personal opinions taint his work.
“At no time in any of these texts did those personal beliefs ever enter into the realm of any action I took,” Strzok said. “The suggestion that I’m in some dark chamber somewhere in the FBI [and] would somehow cast aside all of these procedures, all of these safeguards, and somehow be able to do this is astounding to me. It simply couldn’t happen.”
3. At one point, Strzok and Trey Gowdy, the House oversight committee chairman, got into a heated exchange over the real reason Strzok was taken off Mueller’s team.
“I am stating to you it is not my understanding that he kicked me off because of any bias that it was done based on the appearance,” Strzok said. “If you want to represent what you said accurately I am happy to answer that question, but I don’t appreciate what was originally said being changed.”
Gowdy responded: “I don’t give a damn what you appreciate Agent Strzok. I don’t appreciate having an FBI agent with an unprecedented level of animus working on two major investigations during 2016.”
4. When Bob Goodlatte, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, pressed Strzok on his removal, Strzok said he didn’t think it was necessary to recuse himself from the Russia probe over his personal beliefs. Strzok stressed that his text messages were “not indicative of bias.”
“I did not think that bias was expressed in those text messages,” he said. Strzok said it’s impossible to say that “people must not have political opinion.”
“Everyone does. Of course they do. The test is if that is left behind when they do their job,” he said.
5. Strzok also called Thursday’s hearing a victory for Russian President Valdamir Putin and said the country is successfully “sowing discord in our nation and shaking faith in our institutions.”
“I have the utmost respect for Congress’s oversight role, but I truly believe that today’s hearing is just another victory notch in Putin’s belt and another milestone in our enemies’ campaign to tear America apart,” Strzok said. “As someone who loves this country and cherishes its ideals, it is profoundly painful to watch and even worse to play a part in.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo credit: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press
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