Two former FBI agents settle lawsuits with Justice Department

Former FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were centers of controversy during the Trump-Russia investigation, have reached settlements with their former employer over violations of their privacy rights. The government is paying Strzok $1.2 million and Page $800,000 in settlements.

Strzok was a senior FBI counterintelligence agent who helped oversee the agency’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia in 2016. He also worked on the investigation into 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Page was an FBI lawyer involved in the Trump inquiry. 

They both sued the Justice Department after officials with the FBI shared copies of text messages they sent each other describing former President Trump as an “idiot” and a “loathsome human” with the press. 

“This outcome is a critical step forward in addressing the government’s unfair and highly politicized treatment of Pete,” Strozk’s attorney, Aitan D. Goelman, wrote in a statement. “As important as it is for him, it also vindicates the privacy interests of all government employees. We will continue to litigate Pete’s constitutional claims to ensure that, in the future, public servants are protected from adverse employment actions motivated by partisan politics.”

“While I have been vindicated by this result, my fervent hope remains that our institutions of justice will never again play politics with the lives of their employees,” Page said in a statement to the Associated Press. 

Both Strozk and Page became subjects of right-wing ire after those messages leaked with Trump repeatedly naming them specifically as evidence of a government conspiracy against him. Both also left their jobs after the texts were leaked. 

In 2019, Strzok and Page filed separate lawsuits against the Department of Justice and the FBI for violating the Privacy Act by releasing their texts to the press before turning them over to Congress. This led to a firestorm from Congressional Republicans who used their texts as part of an attack on the FBI’s investigation into Trump, calling the investigation biased. 

A Justice Department Inspector General report has concluded that there is no evidence of political bias in the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. 

Strzok also filed two separate suits against the DOJ, arguing that the release of the texts violated his constitutional rights and that the DOJ’s decision to fire him was politically motivated. Strzok wants to be reinstated to his job so he can retire with full benefits. 

News of the settlement first became public in May, leading House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to press Attorney General Merrick Garland on the proposed settlement, asking why the Justice Department was “reward[ing]” Strzok and Page. 

“It’s not a question of reward. It’s a question of the government paying for violating the law,” Garland said in response.