Former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page have settled with the Justice Department over alleged violations of privacy rights following the publication of their disparaging text messages that former President Trump used to challenge the Russia investigation during his presidency.
The settlement is still awaiting finalization and approval by a judge.
A preliminary agreement was filed Tuesday to resolve Page's five-year-old lawsuit against the FBI over the release of text messages with Strzok — with whom she had an affair — that were critical of the former president. Strzok's lawsuit seeking back pay and reinstatement remains uncertain.
Page sought $1,000 in damages after her text messages were leaked to the media. Further details of the settlement were not immediately available.
COULD A VERDICT IN TRUMP'S CRIMINAL CASE INCREASE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION?
Peter Strzok and Lisa Page are former FBI officials whose extramarital affair came to light during the release of their anti-Trump text messages. (Chip Somodevilla/Staff I Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Contributor)
In 2019, Strzok argued in a lawsuit in the federal district court of Washington, D.C., that his politically charged anti-Trump messages were protected by the First Amendment, even though he sent them via agency-issued phones while playing a leading role in the investigations into both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Strzok, once head of the FBI's counterintelligence division, said he had the right to “develop a complete factual account through discovery,” and that it would be premature to dismiss the case at this early stage. He further argued that the DOJ's position would “leave thousands of federal government employees without protection from discipline over the content of their political speech.”
NY V. TRUMP: FORMER PRESIDENT UNLEASHS SOCIAL MEDIA FIRESTORM BEFORE JURY RELIBERATION
Page has also filed suit against the FBI and Department of Justice, alleging that the government's publication of her salacious text messages with Strzok violated the Federal Privacy Act.
Page's complaint also sought reimbursement for “the costs of childcare during and transportation to multiple investigative reviews and appearances before Congress,” the “cost of paying a data privacy service to protect her personal information,” and attorneys' fees.
Former President Trump, a Republican presidential candidate, sits in court during his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 21, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/PoolAFP via Getty Images)
In a later filing, Strzok's attorneys wrote that the defendants “should not be heard to complain about the notoriety and alleged harm to the FBI's reputation from Strzok's speech, when it was their own illegal disclosures, magnified and distorted by the false attacks. made by the president and his allies, who highlighted Strzok's views.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Ex-FBI official Peter Strzok was fired in 2018 for sending anti-Trump texts. (Reuters)
The two were involved in the FBI's first counterintelligence investigation Russian interference and possible collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 election and later served on special counsel Robert Mueller's team.
In 2020, the love scandal was spotlighted during a live performance titled “FBI Lovebirds: UnderCovers” at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was based on the anti-Trump text messages shared between the former agents. Trump referred to the couple as the “FBI lovebirds” during his rallies.
Gregg Re and Brooke Singman of Fox News contributed to this report.
