Strzok: Congress Questioning Me "Is Just Another Victory Notch in Putin's Belt"

Anti-Trump text messages he exchanged with Lisa Page were expressions of "deep patriotism" and not bias, FBI agent Peter Strzok told US Congress. He also claimed the hearing was a victory for Russian efforts to destroy America.

Strzok, the former deputy assistant director for counterintelligence of the FBI, faced the House Judiciary and Oversight committees on Thursday, to answer questions about his conduct during the 2016 investigations of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. He was a key member of both probes and even served on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, until he was reassigned following the discovery of text messages between him and Page, a FBI attorney who has since resigned.

Strzok maintained that the text messages between him and Page were rooted in “deep patriotism” and “not indicative of bias.” In his opening remarks, he said he was “particularly proud” of his work on the Clinton email investigation.

“I have the utmost respect for Congress's oversight role, but I strongly believe today's hearing is just another victory notch in Putin's belt and another milestone in our enemies’ campaign to tear America apart,” he said. “As someone who loves this country and cherishes its ideals, it's profoundly painful to watch and even worse to play a part in.”

This sentiment was echoed by numerous Democrats. Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois) at one point declared that “they’ve got to be overjoyed at the Kremlin.”