WASHINGTON — Two former FBI officials settled lawsuits with the Justice Department on Friday, resolving claims that their privacy rights were violated when the department leaked text messages to the media that they were sent to each other disparaging former President Donald Trump.
Peter Strzoka former top intelligence agent who played a crucial role in the investigation Russian election interference in 2016, settled his case for $1.2 million. Lisa Page, an FBI attorney who exchanged text messages with Strzok, also reached a separate settlement. Court records reviewed by The Associated Press show he must pay $800,000.
The two had sued the Justice Department over a 2017 episode in which officials shared with reporters copies of text messages they had sent to each other, including ones describing Trump as an “idiot” and a “disgusting man” and calling the prospect of a Trump victory “terrifying.”
Strzok, who also investigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, was fired after the text messages came to light. The page resigned. They later alleged that department officials leaked the texts to promote a false narrative of anti-Trump bias within the FBI and to elevate the department’s standing with Trump after his relentless attacks on then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The Justice Department’s inspector general reports examining the handling of Clinton emails and the Trump-Russia investigations found no evidence that partisan bias within the FBI influenced investigative decisions.
Strzok also sued the department over his termination, claiming that the FBI caved to “relentless pressure” from Trump when it fired him and that his First Amendment rights were violated. Those constitutional claims remain pending.
“This result is a critical step forward in addressing the unfair and highly politicized treatment of Pete’s government,” Strzok’s attorney, Aitan Goelman, said in a statement Friday announcing the settlement.
“As important as it is to him, he also asserts 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 the actions of adverse employment motivated by partisan politics,” he added.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment Friday.
“While I was vindicated by this outcome, my fervent hope remains that our justice institutions will never again play politics with the lives of their employees,” Page said in a statement.
His lawyers said in a statement that “the evidence was overwhelming that the release of text messages to the press in December 2017 was for partisan political purposes and was against the law.”
