FBI agent removed from Russia investigation wants to ‘clear his name’ by testifying to US Congress
Peter Strzok was the lead FBI agent in the investigation of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and was involved in any early phase of the FBI’s Russia investigation
The FBI agent who was removed from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election for sending anti-Trump texts intends to testify before the House Judiciary Committee and any other congressional committee that asks, his lawyer said.
Peter Strzok, who was singled out in a recent Justice Department inspector general report for the politically charged messages, would be willing to testify without immunity, and he would not invoke his Fifth Amendment rights in response to any question, his lawyer, Aitan Goelman, said in an interview Sunday.
Strzok has become a special target of US President Donald Trump, who has used the texts to question the Russia investigation. Goelman said Strzok “wants the chance to clear his name and tell his story.”
“He thinks that his position, character and actions have all been misrepresented and caricatured, and he wants an opportunity to remedy that,” the lawyer said.
If Strzok were to testify publicly, the hearing could be explosive, perhaps exposing new details about investigators’ thinking on some of the FBI’s most high-profile probes.