Rod Rosenstein Says He Authorized FBI Officials' Texts To Be Released To Media

Former deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was the official who approved releasing to the media hundreds of text messages many of which were politically charged between high-ranking FBI employees Peter Strzok and Lisa Page in 2017, according to a Justice Department court filing released Friday night.

Rosenstein said in an affidavit that hed authorized the release of the messages on Dec. 12, 2017, the day before he provided testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, because he believed there was a legitimate need for Congress to see them.

He said he also believed it inevitable that members of Congress would publicly disclose the messages and said he wanted to avoid the additional harm that could be caused by a cherry-picked release.

The disclosure obviously would adversely affect public confidence in the FBI, but providing the most egregious messages in one package would avoid the additional harm of prolonged selective disclosures and minimize the appearance of the Department concealing information that was embarrassing to the FBI, Rosenstein wrote.

NEW OVERNIGHT: In late-night court filing from DOJ, @RodRosenstein acknowledges he made decision to release Strzok-Page texts that have fueled many a POTUS attack on the former FBI employees. Both are suing over release, saying it invaded their privacy https://t.co/SUSfl2yy8m

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NEW OVERNIGHT: In late-night court filing from DOJ, @RodRosenstein acknowledges he made decision to release Strzok-Page texts that have fueled many a POTUS attack on the former FBI employees. Both are suing over release, saying it invaded their privacy https://t.co/SUSfl2yy8m
Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) January 18, 2020

The Justice Department released some 375 text messages between Strzok, then an FBI agent, and Page, a former attorney with the bureau. The messages, which were sent on government-issued phones, included disparaging comments that Strzok and Page had made about Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. The pair, who both briefly worked on special counsel Robert Muellers probe into Russian election meddling, lambasted Trump as an idiot and expressed support for his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

Strzok and Page were removed from the Mueller investigation after the messages were released. Strzok was later fired over the messages, and Page resigned from the FBI. It was unclear before Friday who had authorized the texts to be made available to the press.

Trump has repeatedly mocked and lambasted Strzok and Page, including accusing them of committing treason . The president has also made crude remarks about their extramarital affair.

Both Strzok and Page have since sued the DOJ , alleging the department violated the federal Privacy Act by releasing their texts.

The former deputy attorney general refuted this allegation in a statement filed as part of DOJs defense to Strzoks lawsuit.

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If I had believed that the disclosure was prohibited by the Privacy Act, I would have ordered Department employees not to make the disclosure, Rosenstein wrote.

All I can say is this: I very much look forward to Rods deposition, Page tweeted Saturday.

All I can say is this: I very much look forward to Rods deposition. https://t.co/so43a38WBh

Lisa Page (@NatSecLisa) January 18, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Lisa Page","author_url":"https://twitter.com/NatSecLisa","cache_age":86400,"description":"All I can say is this: I very much look forward to Rods deposition. https://t.co/so43a38WBh Lisa Page (@NatSecLisa) January 18, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Lisa Page on 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All I can say is this: I very much look forward to Rods deposition. https://t.co/so43a38WBh
Lisa Page (@NatSecLisa) January 18, 2020