WASHINGTON — Peter Strzok, the F.B.I. senior counterintelligence agent who disparaged President Trump in inflammatory text messages and helped oversee the Hillary Clinton email and Russia investigations, was fired for violating bureau policies, Mr. Strzok’s lawyer said Monday.

Mr. Trump and his allies seized on the text messages — exchanged during the 2016 campaign with a former F.B.I. lawyer, Lisa Page — in assailing the Russia investigation as an illegitimate “witch hunt.” Mr. Strzok, who rose over 20 years at the F.B.I. to become one of its most experienced counterintelligence agents, was a key figure in the early months of the inquiry.

Aitan Goelman, his lawyer, confirmed Mr. Strzok’s dismissal.

In one message exchange, Ms. Page asks: Trump is “not ever going to become president, right? Right?!” Mr. Strzok responds: “No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it.” The inspector general, who uncovered the messages, found no evidence that the pair imposed their political views on their investigative decisions but cited that exchange as “not only indicative of a biased state of mind but, even more seriously, implies a willingness to take official action to impact the presidential candidate’s electoral prospects.”

The report by the inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, that preceded Mr. Strzok’s firing criticized his conduct in sending the texts; his use of personal email accounts to handle sensitive information; and a decision not to move swiftly enough to examine new emails related to the Clinton investigation just weeks before the 2016 election.

Mr. Horowitz said in his report that he was “deeply troubled” by the text messages. Hundreds exchanged over months were found in which the pair disparaged Mr. Trump and, to a lesser extent, Mrs. Clinton, exchanged work gossip and bantered.

Mr. Strzok became emblematic of Mr. Trump’s unfounded assertions that a so-called deep state of bureaucrats opposed to him was undermining his presidency. Mr. Trump contended that Mr. Strzok targeted the president and accused Mr. Strzok of being “treasonous” and a “disgrace.” Mr. Strzok told lawmakers that he never leaked information about the Russia inquiry, which could have upended the election and hurt Mr. Trump’s chances of becoming president.

You have 4 free articles remaining.

Subscribe to The Times

After Mr. Horowitz uncovered the text messages, the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who had by then taken over the investigation, removed Mr. Strzok from his team last summer. He was reassigned to the F.B.I.’s human resources division. Ms. Page, who had left Mr. Mueller’s team before the discovery of the text messages, quit the F.B.I. in May.

The inspector general’s report also took issue with the reaction by Mr. Strzok and other F.B.I. officials to the discovery of possible new evidence in the Clinton investigation, known internally as Midyear Exam, in late September 2016 on a laptop that belonged to the disgraced politician Anthony Weiner, the husband of a top Clinton aide.

At the time, Mr. Strzok was in the early stages of investigating whether any Trump associates had conspired with Russia’s interference in the presidential election, and nearly a month passed before agents and analysts began to act on the emails found on Mr. Weiner’s laptop. Mr. Horowitz could not rule out that Mr. Strzok had slow-walked the examination of the new emails to help Mrs. Clinton’s presidential bid.

EDITORS’ PICKS

‘Too Little Too Late’: Older Americans Are Facing Bankruptcy

This Is the Way Paul Ryan’s Speakership Ends

The Age That Women Have Babies: How a Gap Divides America

“Under these circumstances, we did not have confidence that Strzok’s decision to prioritize the Russia investigation over following up on the Midyear-related investigative lead discovered on the Weiner laptop was free from bias,” he wrote.

The delays were merely the “result of bureaucratic snafus,” Mr. Strzok’s lawyer wrote last month in USA Today.

But the justifications for the delay were “unpersuasive” and had “far-reaching consequences,” the inspector general said. James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, has told investigators that if he had known about the emails earlier, it might have influenced his decision to alert Congress to their existence days before the election.

In addition, the inspector general said that Mr. Strzok had forwarded a proposed search warrant to his personal email account. The inspector general said the email, which included a draft of the search warrant affidavit, contained information that appeared to be under seal.

In a heated congressional hearing last month, Mr. Strzok expressed “significant regret” for the texts and rebutted the president’s attacks on the Russia inquiry. “This investigation is not politically motivated; it is not a witch hunt; it is not a hoax,” he said.

Mr. Strzok’s dismissal was not unexpected. He is the second senior F.B.I. agent to be fired as a result of the inspector general’s investigation. In March, Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy director, was fired after the inspector general repeatedly faulted him for misleading investigators.

The firing was politically motivated, Mr. McCabe has said, as an effort to discredit him as a witness in the special counsel investigation.

Both men were fired before they were eligible for their pension and health benefits.

Mr. Strzok, 48, a graduate of Georgetown University, served as an officer in the United States Army before he joined the F.B.I. He held several key positions in the F.B.I., eventually becoming a top deputy in the counterintelligence division.

He handled many important espionage cases including one involving a former C.I.A. officer suspected of working for China and a group of Russian spies who had been working undercover in the United States.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608288)

The plain fact is Sessions, Wrey and Rosenstein have put institutional preservation above everything else, DOJ and FBI are filled to the brim with corrupt traitors and therefore the only remaining solution is to disband both the DOJ and FBI and start anew

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608294)

He was a dumbass for using his government phone to talk shit about a pending investigation.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608310)

Explain, in detail, how he was gonna change the votes in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio for Hillary.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608321)

Failing to secure classified secrets in a government-approved facility or moving them to a non-secure facility outside the government’s control is a misdemeanor, punishable by a hefty fine and a year in jail. Using a false email address that gives the clear impression that the user is not using a government server when she is, or one that creates the false impression that the emailer is using a government server when she is not, is also a felony.

https://mobile.wnd.com/2015/03/the-federal-laws-hillary-violated/#VZzgzvUrkZIU7iZy.99

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608396)

In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts. All the cases prosecuted involved some combination of: clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information; or vast quantities of materials exposed in such a way as to support an inference of intentional misconduct; or indications of disloyalty to the United States; or efforts to obstruct justice. We do not see those things here.

To be clear, this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions. But that is not what we are deciding now."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608619)

lol, u really think Fed ProsBros are gonna bring the full weight and resources of the DOJ on "an inference"

LOL

When I was a ProsBro, those fuckers wouldn't take bank robberies if the amount was too low.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608646)

However, that doesn't explain why the Trump Administration has repeatedly lied about meeting with Russians so many times if there is "No there, there."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608371)

Wouldn't be surprised if he writes a book, too. He won't get Comey-level $$ for that, but he will be just fine.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608409)

?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36608426)

Mr. Strzok became emblematic of Mr. Trump’s unfounded assertions that a so-called deep state of bureaucrats opposed to him was undermining his presidency.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4050809&forum_id=2#36610012)