Former FBI Lawyer Lisa Page Sues DOJ, FBI, Says Leaking Her Texts 'Was Illegal'

Nicholas Ballasy | 4:06 PM on December 10, 2019

Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page arrives for a closed door interview with the House Judiciary and House Oversight committees, Monday, July 16, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON — Former FBI Lawyer Lisa Page is suing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over the leaking of her text messages with former FBI Agent Peter Strzok.

“I sued the Department of Justice and FBI today,” Page announced Tuesday on Twitter. “I take little joy in having done so. But what they did in leaking my messages to the press was not only wrong, it was illegal.”

Page’s complaint is focused on “alleged violations of the Privacy Act related to the disclosure of information about her to the media.”

Page had an affair with Strzok, who signed the document opening the FBI’s investigation of potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Strzok was later removed from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. Soon after, Page and Strzok’s anti-Trump text messages were released publicly. Strzok was fired from the FBI last year. He has sued the FBI over his termination.

Some of the damages listed in Page’s complaint include “the cost of therapy to cope with unwanted national media exposure and harassment caused by the December 12 disclosure,” which is a reference to public criticism from President Trump and other political figures. Page is also seeking compensation for payments made to a “data-privacy service to protect her personal information” as well as childcare and transportation costs for “multiple investigative reviews and appearances before Congress.” According to the complaint, the release of the text messages with Strzok has resulted in “permanent loss of earning capacity due to reputational damage” for Page.

Following the Monday release of the DOJ Inspector General’s report on the origins of the Russia probe, Page wrote, “The sum total of findings by IG Horowitz that my personal opinions had any bearing on the course of either the Clinton or Russia investigations? Zero and Zero. Cool, cool. /end.”

She also wrote, “Today was a good day” with a heart emoji.