Members of the House Judicial and Oversight Committee spent over nine hours on Thursday questioning FBI agent Peter Strzok about his role in the high-profile investigations into Hillary Clinton’s emails and President Trump’s alleged collusion with the Russian government.
The committee grilled Strzok with questions about his political biases, referring to a number of anti-Trump text messages that Strzok sent to ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he had an affair.
Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover), who questioned Strzok near the hearing’s end, took a less combative tone with Strzok than his GOP colleagues, but didn’t hold much back.
“I’m not going to be necessarily in attack mode because I want to get some answers,” Palmer began.
“I appreciate the fact that you sought forgiveness from your family,” Palmer said. “I appreciate the fact that you realize that you have severely damaged the reputation of the FBI … I literally sat here, and I mean this sincerely, and prayed for you and your family because I can’t imagine what your family’s feeling going through this, but I will say this to you, and I hope it’s constructive. I hope you take it as constructive. As I’ve watched your body language, as I’ve watched your facial expressions it’s almost as if you’ve enjoyed this. This is a competition for you.”
Strzok told Palmer that he had not enjoyed the hearing, but Palmer insisted.
“I’m not going to say your problem is a lack of integrity,” he said. “I think it’s a problem of hubris, and I think you need to take that into account.”
Rep. Martha Roby (R-Montgomery), who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, did not question Strzok yesterday but was unequivocal in a statement to Yellowhammer News about her belief that Strzok’s bias has been clearly demonstrated.
“While many questions still remain, there is one thing that I know to be certain: it is unacceptable for political bias to exist in the DOJ and FBI,” Roby’s statement said, in part. “These hearings and the committees’ use of subpoena power is critical to our role of congressional oversight, and I appreciate Chairman Goodlatte and Chairman Gowdy giving the American people the opportunity to learn more about this critical topic.”
@jeremywbeaman is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News
