FBI agent in texting scandal says he’ll voluntarily testify to Congress

Embattled FBI agent Peter Strzok has agreed to voluntarily testify before Congress, his attorney has told lawmakers, potentially fending off a subpoena for him to appear.

Strzok’s role in FBI investigations into both Hillary Clinton and President Donald Trump drew the attention of Republicans in Congress after the publication of text messages he had exchanged with an FBI attorney. In them, Strzok and attorney Lisa Page were critical of politicians including Trump.

"Special agent Strzok, who has been fully cooperative with the DOJ Office of the Inspector General, intends to voluntarily appear and testify before your committee and any other Congressional committee that invites him," Aitan Goelman, Strzok’s lawyer, wrote in a letter dated Saturday to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).

POLITICO previously reported that Goodlatte was preparing to subpoena Strzok’s testimony. A number of other committees also want to hear from him.

Strzok was a key figure in the Justice Department inspector general’s report last week on the FBI’s investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. Republicans, in particular, were outraged by a text exchange with Page in which she asked whether Trump would become president.

"No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it," Strzok responded.

Republicans have pointed to the message as proof that animosity toward Trump led the FBI to investigate the president. The IG concluded that Strzok, Page and other officials used highly inappropriate language when talking about Trump, but he did not find political bias in the Clinton investigation. The inspector general’s report did not cover the Russia probe.

Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.

The original story can be found here.