Left: Peter Strzok, center, the FBI agent facing criticism following a series of anti-Trump text messages, walks to give a deposition before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 27, 2018 (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). Right: Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page leaves following an interview with lawmakers behind closed doors on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, July 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Donald Trump may have to testify in a lawsuit brought by an FBI agent who became a target of the former president’s ire after it was revealed that he had expressed concerns about Trump before the 2016 presidential election.
Peter Strzok, who was fired from the agency in 2018 over text messages between him and FBI attorney Lisa Page about a potential Trump presidency, sued the Justice Department in August of 2019. He is seeking back pay and reinstatement and has alleged that he was unlawfully terminated for expressing his political opinions.
Page also sued the FBI and Justice Department, alleging privacy violations.
Strzok subpoenaed Trump and FBI Director Christopher Wray, who has held that position since 2017. The Justice Department moved to quash the subpoena, citing a legal concept called the “apex doctrine,” which disfavors taking depositions of high-ranking government officials unless a party can show that extraordinary circumstances exist.
In a sealed hearing on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson denied the DOJ’s motion and said the depositions of Trump and Wray could proceed. However, she set strict guidelines for the potential depositions.
“The Court authorized the plaintiffs to conduct depositions of each witness that do not exceed two hours and are limited to the narrow set of topics specified on the record at the hearing,” the judge wrote in an order posted to the federal case docket.
President Joe Biden may also have a role to play in the proceedings.
“Today’s ruling addressed the apex doctrine issues only and did not resolve any questions related to either the Presidential communications prong or the deliberative process prong of the executive privilege,” Jackson, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote in the order. “For the reasons stated on the record, the government must inform the Court whether the current President will invoke the executive privilege with respect to the specified topics by March 24, 2023.”
Strzok’s lawsuit against the DOJ, Wray and former Attorney General William Barr alleges that he was unlawfully fired for his political beliefs. He also said that the DOJ violated his privacy by releasing the text messages between him and Page, who were having an affair at the time the text messages were exchanged. Trump’s former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was behind releasing the text messages.
The text messages sparked a firestorm of criticism among Trump and his allies. The then-president targeted Page repeatedly, and Strzok testified before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee in July 2018 as part of a House inquiry into perceived action taken by the DOJ and FBI during the 2016 presidential election.
Trump didn’t relent even after leaving office, naming Strzok and Page in a wide-ranging racketeering lawsuit against dozens of his perceived political enemies. A judge dismissed Strzok, Page, and others from the case months after its March 2022 filing. The lawsuit was dismissed in September, and some attorneys have been ordered to pay sanctions.
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