The Justice Department has reached a tentative settlement with former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page to resolve claims that their privacy was violated when their text messages disparaging former President Donald Trump were leaked to the media. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the court filing. Strzok, who was fired in 2018 after the text messages came to light, had also sued the department over his termination, alleging that his First Amendment rights were violated. Trump, who had publicly supported Strzok’s firing, was questioned under oath last year as part of the litigation.
The text messages in question were discovered by the Justice Department inspector general’s office while scrutinizing the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. Strzok, who was a lead agent in that probe, was also involved in the investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign. Despite finding no evidence of political bias in the email investigation, the text messages led to Strzok’s removal from the special counsel team and fueled Trump’s claims that the Russia investigation was politically motivated. The inspector general identified flaws in the probe but did not find evidence of partisan bias.
Lawyers for Strzok and Page declined to comment on the tentative settlement, as did a Justice Department spokesperson. The department had previously stated that it was permissible to share the text messages with the media since they had also been disclosed to members of Congress. The lawsuits filed by Strzok and Page alleged that the Justice Department infringed on their privacy rights by leaking the text messages, which included derogatory remarks about Trump. The tentative settlement does not resolve Strzok’s claims of constitutional violations related to his termination.
The leaks of the text messages fueled public controversy and led to Strzok’s firing and Page’s resignation in 2018. Trump accused Strzok of treason and had publicly supported his removal from the FBI. The long-running litigation involving the text messages and the alleged violations of privacy rights by the Justice Department is set to be resolved through the tentative settlement reached with Strzok and Page. Despite the settlement, the constitutional claims related to Strzok’s termination remain unresolved and may be subject to further legal proceedings. The terms and conditions of the settlement are expected to be finalized in the coming days.
