Disgraced ex-FBI official Peter Strzok is suing the Department of Justice, alleging that his 2018 firing was political in nature.
Strzok’s infamous anti-Trump text messages with FBI lawyer Lisa Page that appear to promise that the FBI would stop Trump from getting elected proved to be a stunning blow to the perceived impartiality of the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
The most noteworthy of Strzok’s texts was on Aug. 15, 2016: “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office that there’s no way he [Trump] gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40…”
In response to the lawsuit, the Department of Justice released a draft of the 2018 letter by David Bowdich, the former deputy director of the FBI, firing Strzok — proving that his firing wasn’t political.
“While there is no doubt your 21 years of service to the organization cannot and should not be erased, it is difficult to fathom the repeated, sustained errors of judgment you made while serving as the lead agent in two of the most high profile investigations in the country,” Bowdich wrote. “Though the Office of the Inspector General found no evidence of bias impacted any of your or the FBI’s investigative actions or decisions, your sustained pattern of bad judgment in the use of an FBI device has called into question for many of the decisions made during both the Clinton e-mail investigation and the initial states of the Russian Collusion investigation.”
“In short, your repeated selfishness has called into question the credibility of the entire FBI.”
Bowdich added, “In my 23 years in the FBI, I have not seen a more impactful series of missteps which called into question the entire organization and more thoroughly damaged the reputation of the organization. In our role as FBI employees we sometimes make unpopular decisions, but the public should be able to examine our work and not have to question motives.”
Strzok's dismissal letter was published today:
"In my 23 years in the FBI, I have not seen a more impactful series of missteps that has called into question the entire organization and more thoroughly damaged the FBI’s reputation."
h/t @walkafyre pic.twitter.com/rFILnxDL84
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) September 30, 2022
It’s nice to know that someone at the FBI still cared about the agency’s integrity. Bowdich has since left the FBI for a job with the Walt Disney Company as Vice President of Global Security.
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