Peter Strzok is an FBI agent formerly a lead investigator in several high profile FBI investigations including Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server and allegations of collusion with the Russians in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
Career
Strzok was an officer in the U.S. military and then an intelligence research specialist prior tp joining the FBI. [1]
He worked at the FBI since at least the late 1990s and was one of its top experts on Russia.[2] He served as the deputy head of FBI counter-intelligence[3] and worked on secret matters of espionage involving China and Russia.[1]
Starting on July 10, 2015, Strzok led a team of a dozen investigators to examine Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.[4] During the investigation, Strzok changed Comey's earlier draft language describing Clinton's actions as "grossly negligent" (which may be a criminal offence) to "extremely careless".[2] Strzok and his team helped review newly discovered Clinton emails days before Election Day.[4]
Strzok signed a document opening the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[2][5] He oversaw the bureau's interviews with then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.[6] Strzok also became part of Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
In late July 2017, Strzok was removed from Mueller's team and moved to a human resources position at the agency after reports of text messages transmitted between Strzok and Lisa Page, which appeared to make fun of Donald Trump and be anti-Trump in nature, were verified by the Justice Dept.[7][8] It has been alleged that Strzok was having an affair with Page, who was involved in Mueller's investigation as a trial attorney until she left in late September 2017.[9][10] Michael E. Horowitz, the Inspector General of the Justice Department, has an ongoing investigation into how the FBI handled the high profile investigations and a report is expected in early 2018 on its findings.[11]
Personal life
He is married to Melissa Hodgman, who became an associate director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in October 2016.[12]
References
- ^ a b Bertrand, Natasha (August 16, 2017). "A top FBI investigator has unexpectedly stepped away from special counsel Mueller's Russia probe". Business Insider. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ a b c Jarrett, Laura; Perez, Evan. "FBI agent dismissed from Mueller probe changed Comey description of Clinton". CNN. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Mueller removed FBI agent from Russia probe for anti-Trump texts: reports".
- ^ a b Schmidt, Michael S.; Goldman, Adam; Lichtblau, Eric (April 22, 2017). "Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. From Politics. Then He Shaped an Election". The New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ Sheth, Sonam (December 4, 2017). "Strzok authorized the FBI to launch the Russia investigation". Business Insider. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ Darrah, Nicole (December 4, 2017). "FBI agent fired from Russia probe oversaw Flynn interviews, softened Comey language on Clinton email actions". Fox News. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ Demirjian, Karoun; Barrett, Devlin (December 2, 2017). "Top FBI official assigned to Mueller's Russia probe said to have been removed after sending anti-Trump texts". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ Perez, Evan. "FBI agent removed from Mueller investigation". CNN. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Top FBI agent was removed from Russia probe over allegations he made anti-Trump statements". December 2, 2017.
- ^ Levine, Mike; Thomas, Pierre (September 28, 2017). "Special counsel's Russia investigation team loses 2nd FBI veteran". ABC News. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ Kutner, Max (December 2, 2017). "Why Mueller threw an agent off the Trump-Russia probe". Newsweek. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ Bucher, Chris (December 2, 2017). "Peter Strzok & Lisa Page: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved December 5, 2017.