Peter Strzok facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Peter Strzok
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Peter Paul Strzok II
March 7, 1970 |
| Education | Georgetown University (BA, MA) |
| Spouse(s) | Melissa Hodgman |
Peter Paul Strzok II (born March 7, 1970) is a former agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States. He was a high-ranking official in the FBI's Counterintelligence Division. This division works to protect the country from spies and foreign threats. Strzok led important investigations, including one into possible Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. He also investigated Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server.
In 2017, Strzok worked on a special investigation led by Robert Mueller. This investigation looked into any connections between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government. Strzok was later removed from this investigation. This happened after text messages between him and another FBI lawyer, Lisa Page, became public. These messages showed them criticizing Donald Trump.
On August 10, 2018, Strzok was fired from the FBI. He later filed a lawsuit, saying his firing was unfair and that his text messages were part of his right to free speech. In September 2020, he published a book called Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump. Today, Strzok is a professor at Georgetown University and co-hosts a podcast.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Peter Paul Strzok II was born near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. His father was a retired US Army officer who served in the Corps of Engineers. His father worked in places like Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Peter Strzok attended elementary school in Tehran, Iran, before the Iranian Revolution. His family later moved to Burkina Faso.
For high school, Strzok went to St. John's Preparatory School in Minnesota. He graduated in 1987. He then earned two degrees from Georgetown University, a bachelor's degree in 1991 and a master's degree in 2013. After college, Strzok served as an officer in the United States Army. He then joined the FBI in 1996. Strzok is married to Melissa Hodgman. She is an associate director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Working at the FBI
Strzok worked for the FBI for 22 years. He was a lead agent in "Operation Ghost Stories." This operation was against Russian spies who were part of a secret program. By 2015, he was a section chief in the FBI's Counterintelligence Division.
Hillary Clinton Email Investigation
Strzok led a team investigating Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server. He helped write public statements for the FBI Director at the time, James Comey. Strzok changed a description of Clinton's actions from "grossly negligent" to "extremely careless." This change was part of a team effort. Director Comey later stated that no reasonable prosecutor would bring charges based on the evidence.
Later, more emails were found just before the 2016 election. Strzok supported reopening the Clinton investigation. He also helped write the letter that Comey used to tell Congress about this. This decision brought the email issue back into the news during the final days of the election.
Russia Investigation
Strzok became a Deputy Assistant Director in the Counterintelligence Division. He was a top official for investigations involving Russia. In this role, he led the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. He looked into the Steele dossier and Russia's role in the 2016 Democratic National Committee email leak. He also oversaw interviews with then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Flynn later admitted to lying during those interviews.
In July 2017, Strzok joined Robert Mueller's 2017 Special Counsel investigation. This investigation looked for links between Trump's campaign and the Russian government. Strzok was considered one of the FBI's most experienced investigators. He was also seen as a top expert on Russia.
Removal from Investigation
Strzok left the Mueller investigation in July 2017. This happened after personal text messages between him and Lisa Page, an FBI lawyer, were found. These messages, sent during the 2016 election, criticized Donald Trump. Republicans in Congress and some media outlets suggested Strzok was part of a plan to harm Trump's presidency.
The Justice Department's Inspector General (IG) began looking into how the FBI handled election-related investigations. The IG's report was released on June 14, 2018. The day after the report came out, Strzok was escorted from FBI headquarters. This meant the FBI planned to fire him. His security clearance was also taken away.
On August 10, 2018, FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich fired Strzok. This decision went against a recommendation from the FBI's disciplinary office. That office had suggested Strzok only be suspended for 60 days and demoted.
Text Messages
The Inspector General's investigation looked at thousands of text messages. These messages were exchanged between Strzok and Lisa Page on FBI phones. Page was also a lawyer on Mueller's team. The texts were sent between August 2015 and December 2016.
Some of the texts criticized then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. They also criticized other political figures like Chelsea Clinton and Bernie Sanders. For example, Strzok called Trump an "idiot" in August 2015. He also texted "God Hillary should win 100,000,000 - 0" after a Republican debate in March 2016.
Strzok's colleagues said he had never shown political bias before. Former FBI and Justice Department officials said it was common for agents to have political opinions. They also said agents could still conduct fair investigations. Mueller removed Strzok to protect the fairness of the Russia investigation.
The Justice Department's decision to make these private messages public was debated. A review of Strzok's messages by The Wall Street Journal found that texts criticizing Trump were only a small part of the thousands of messages. The review found no evidence of a plan against Trump.
The Inspector General's report on the Clinton email investigation criticized Strzok's texts. It said they made it seem like there was something improper. However, the report found no evidence that bias affected the FBI's decision not to charge Clinton. In one text from August 2016, Page asked Strzok, "[Trump's] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!" Strzok replied: "No. No he won't. We'll stop it."
At a public hearing on July 12, 2018, Strzok said his personal beliefs did not affect his FBI work. He explained that the "We'll stop it" message was written late at night. It was after Trump had criticized the family of a fallen American soldier. Strzok said the message meant he believed Americans would not vote for someone who acted that way. He said it was not a suggestion that the FBI would do anything improper.
A December 2019 report by the Justice Department inspector general confirmed Strzok's text about stopping Trump. However, it stated that Strzok's actions were not due to bias. It also said he did not have too much influence in starting the FBI's investigation into Russian interference.
Reactions to the Texts
Republicans used Strzok's text messages to question the fairness of Mueller's investigation. Some conservative media outlets also used the texts to criticize the investigation. However, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended Mueller. He praised Mueller for removing Strzok from the investigation.
In 2018, President Trump falsely claimed that 19,000 text messages between Strzok and Page were deleted on purpose. PolitiFact said this claim was false. An investigation found no evidence that messages were deleted on purpose.
Some commentators on Fox News used Strzok's messages to criticize the Mueller investigation. Some even suggested it was a "coup" against President Trump. Others called for a "war" against the "deep state." One guest even suggested the texts were evidence of a plot for an "assassination attempt." Other Fox hosts quickly said this was not believable.
Congressional Questions
In an August 15, 2016, text message, Strzok told Page: "I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's (Andrew McCabe, Deputy Director of the FBI) office that there's no way Trump gets elected—but I'm afraid we can't take that risk. It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you're 40."
This message was questioned by Republicans. Senator Chuck Grassley said some texts seemed to go beyond private opinions. He said they seemed to suggest official action to create an "insurance policy" against a Trump presidency. People close to Strzok and Page said Strzok was not planning to use the FBI investigation to harm Trump. Instead, he was saying they needed to investigate leads quickly. This was important in case Trump's associates got government jobs.
In January 2018, Senator Ron Johnson said the FBI's system failed to save five months of texts between Strzok and Page. A Justice Department official later said this technical problem affected thousands of FBI phones.
Some Republicans also claimed that Strzok and Page were part of a "secret society" against Trump. However, ABC News found the message they were referring to. It seemed the "secret society" comment was made as a joke. Senator Johnson later said it was possible the messages were a joke.
In February 2018, Johnson also suggested that texts between Strzok and Page raised questions about former President Obama's involvement in the Clinton email investigation. However, other news outlets reported that these texts were about the FBI's investigation into Russian election interference. They were sent months after the Clinton email investigation ended.
After the FBI
Lawsuit
Strzok filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department and the FBI on August 6, 2019. He asked to be hired back and to receive back pay. He argued that he was fired because of "unrelenting pressure" from Trump. Strzok said his comments were "protected political speech." He also said the Justice Department violated his privacy by releasing his texts. He claimed his firing went against his First Amendment rights.
His lawsuit was combined with one from Lisa Page. In February 2023, a federal judge ruled that Trump and FBI Director Christopher Wray could be questioned about the lawsuit. In May 2024, Strzok and Page reached a settlement with the Justice Department. On July 26, 2025, it was announced that Strzok would receive $1.2 million and Lisa Page would receive $800,000.
Book
In September 2020, Strzok's book, Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump, was published. It became a bestseller. In an interview, Strzok confirmed that the FBI had started a broad investigation into Trump. This happened after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. The investigation was about concerns over Trump's "financial entanglements" with Russia.
Academics
Since October 2020, Strzok has been a professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Podcast
On February 6, 2023, the Cleanup On Aisle 45 podcast announced that Peter Strzok would be a new co-host. He started on February 22, 2023. On November 27, 2024, the podcast announced that Peter Strzok was no longer a co-host.
