Current:Home > NewsPredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center:Two ex-FBI officials who traded anti-Trump texts close to settlement over alleged privacy violations -Excel Wealth Summit
PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center:Two ex-FBI officials who traded anti-Trump texts close to settlement over alleged privacy violations
Will Sage Astor View
Date:2025-04-09 21:28:28
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two former FBI officials have PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Centerreached a tentative settlement with the Justice Department to resolve claims that their privacy was violated when the department leaked to the news media text messages that they had sent one another that disparaged former President Donald Trump.
The tentative deal was disclosed in a brief court filing Tuesday that did not reveal any of the terms.
Peter Strzok, a former top FBI counterintelligence agent who helped lead the bureau’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was fired in 2018 after the anti-Trump text messages came to light. Lisa Page, a former FBI lawyer, voluntarily resigned that same year.
They alleged in federal lawsuits filed in the District of Columbia that the Justice Department infringed on their privacy rights when officials, in December 2017, shared copies of their communication with reporters — including messages that described Trump as an “idiot” and a ”loathsome human” and that called the prospect of a Trump victory “terrifying.”
Strzok also sued the department over his termination, alleging that the FBI caved to “unrelenting pressure” from Trump when it fired him and that his First Amendment rights were violated. Those constitutional claims have not been resolved by the tentative settlement, according to the court notice.
Trump, who publicly championed Strzok’s firing and accused him of treason, was questioned under oath last year as part of the long-running litigation.
The text messages were discovered by the Justice Department inspector general’s office as it scrutinized the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state.
Strzok was a lead agent in that probe as well, and he notes in his lawsuit that the inspector general found no evidence that political bias tainted the email investigation. Even so, the text messages resulted in Strzok being removed from the special counsel team conducting the Trump-Russia investigation and helped drive criticism by Trump that the inquiry was a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
The inspector general identified numerous flaws with that probe but did not find find evidence that any of those problems could be attributed to partisan bias.
Lawyers for Strzok and Page declined to comment Tuesday night. A Justice Department spokesman also declined to comment, but the department has previously said that officials determined that it was permissible to share with the media text messages that were also disclosed to members of Congress.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Wisconsin Republicans consider $614M plan to fund Milwaukee Brewers stadium repairs
- Bidens' dog, Commander, removed from White House after several documented attacks on Secret Service personnel
- Video shows man jumping on car with 2 children inside, smashing window in Philadelphia
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- Report on Virginia Beach mass shooting recommends more training for police and a fund for victims
- Pepco to pay $57 million over toxic pollution of Anacostia River in D.C.'s largest-ever environmental settlement
- IMF chief says the global economy has shown resilience in the face of COVID, war and high rates
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- US shoots down Turkish drone after it came too close to US troops in Syria
Ranking
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Man arrested for murder of woman beaten to death in 1983
- When did the first 'Star Wars' movie come out? Breaking down the culture-defining saga
- Emoji reactions now available in Gmail for Android users
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- India says the Afghan embassy in New Delhi is functioning despite the announcement of suspension
- This Love Is Blind Couple Got Engaged Off Camera During Season 5
- Jamie Foxx Mourns Death of Friend Keith Jefferson at 53
Recommendation
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
Bodies from Prigozhin plane crash contained 'fragments of hand grenades,' Russia says
Amnesty International asks Pakistan to keep hosting Afghans as their expulsion may put them at risk
Armed man seeking governor arrested at Wisconsin Capitol, returns later with rifle
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
It's Texas-OU's last Red River Rivalry in the Big 12. This split is a sad one.
Nearly 50 European leaders stress support for Ukraine at a summit in Spain. Zelenskyy seeks more aid
Marc Anthony and Wife Nadia Ferreira Heat Up the Red Carpet at Billboard Latin Music Awards 2023