By Allan Lengel
Though Peter Strzok was a star FBI agent in his day, the bureau ultimately was not kind to him.
In August 2018, then-FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich drafted a harsh firing letter for Strzok, according to the Washington Times, that said: “It is difficult to fathom the repeated, sustained errors of judgment you made while serving as the lead agent in two of the most high profile investigations in the country.”
“Your sustained pattern of bad judgment in the use of an FBI device has called into question for many the decisions made during both the Clinton e-mail investigation and the initial states of the Russian Collusion investigation. … It [is] difficult to imagine another incident like yours which brought so much discredit to the organization.” The damage to the bureau, he wrote, “will take years to overcome.”
Strzok was fired Aug. 10, 2018.
The letter was included in an FBI response in court to a lawsuit filed by Strzok, who alleges that his firing was politically motivated.
He was fired after the bureau learned of his anti-Trump texts.
Trump, who was president at the time, hailed the firing on Twitter.
“Agent Peter Strzok was just fired from the FBI — finally,” Trump tweeted. “The list of bad players in the FBI & DOJ gets longer & longer. Based on the fact that Strzok was in charge of the Witch Hunt, will it be dropped? It is a total Hoax. No Collusion, No Obstruction — I just fight back!”
