One of the biggest thorns in the side of Donald Trump during his first term in office was just dealt a crushing blow.
Former FBI Agent Peter Strzok just had his lawsuit against the FBI dismissed.
The Strzok was fired after anti-Trump posts and text messages were revealed, and he is believed to have been a key member of the rogue element of the FBI that led the Russian collusion investigation into the Trump campaign during and after the 2016 election.
In the middle of Trump’s first term, Strzok was fired by then-FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich.
Aitan Goelman, Strzok’s attorney, stated, “The decision to fire Special Agent Strzok is not only a departure from typical Bureau practice, but also contradicts (FBI) Director (Christopher) Wray’s testimony to Congress and his assurances that the FBI intended to follow its regular process in this and all personnel matters.”
Strzok also made a statement: “It has been an honor to serve my country and work with the fine men and women of the FBI.”
This was far from the end of the situation, however, as lawsuits were filed by his team to try to get his job back, or, at the very least, a hefty settlement from the FBI.
For some reason, the FBI decided to settle with Strzok, writing him a check for $1.2 million of taxpayer money.
ABC News reported, “In his 2019 lawsuit, Strzok and his lawyers argued that the FBI and DOJ unlawfully disclosed his private text messages disparaging Trump before and after the 2016 presidential election -- including the time frame during which Strzok helped lead the agency's investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email server and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.”
The lawsuit contended, "The FBI fired Special Agent Strzok because of his protected political speech in violation of his rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”
All of a sudden, someone who, at least in my opinion, weaponized the DOJ against a political enemy, was being made out to be a victim when his firing was nothing more than a decision to hold him accountable.
Even though the FBI had settled its case against Strzok, there was another case pending, and it just went up in flames.
Presiding Judge Amy Berman Jackson stated, "At this point, only two issues remain to be resolved: did plaintiff’s termination violate the First Amendment, and did his termination violate the Fifth Amendment guarantee against the deprivation of property without due process of law?"
The court found that Strzok’s "interest in expressing his opinions about political candidates on his FBI phone at that time was outweighed by the FBI’s interest in avoiding the appearance of bias in its ongoing investigations of those very people, and in protecting against the disruption of its law enforcement operations under then-Director Wray’s leadership."
I always thought it was a mistake for the FBI to have settled the other case, and it seems like an even bigger mistake now that this case, based on arguments claiming constitutional violations, has been dismissed. Hopefully, this is the last we hear from Strzok.
