Trump Interview With Hugh Hewitt Bragging About Firing FBI Agent Linked to Judge’s Order to Depose Former President
Former President Donald Trump and FBI Director Christopher Wray can be deposed in lawsuits from two former FBI employees attacked by Trump, a federal judge ruled on Thursday. The Washington Post’s Spencer Hsu linked the judge’s ruling to a recent interview the former president gave to Hugh Hewitt, in which Trump may have hurt his legal standing in the case.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington is part of suits against both the FBI and the Justice Department by former senior agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page.
The two former FBI employees became household names after Trump relentlessly attacked the pair who made headlines for exchanging text messages critical of Trump while they were having an affair.
The pair’s lawsuits, which have been consolidated, allege they were illegally targeted for retribution while working on the Trump-Russia probe.
“Strzok seeks reinstatement and back pay over what he alleges was his unfair termination. Page alleges officials unlawfully released the trove of messages to reporters,” reported the Post.
“The Court authorized the plaintiffs to conduct depositions of each witness that do not exceed two hours and are limited to the narrow set of topics specified,” Jackson ruled in a short court notice posted Thursday — an apparent win for Strzok and Page.
The Post noted that Jackson gave the Justice Department until March 24th to decide whether or not to invoke executive privilege for Trump.
The Justice Department previously tried to stop Strzok’s requests to depose Trump and Wray, arguing that the case had not been made as to the need for their under-oath testimony.
The Post noted, however, that a recent interview between Trump and radio host Hugh Hewitt may have led to Jackson’s ruling.
“If I didn’t fire Comey, and if I didn’t fire McCabe and Strzok and Page and all of that scum that was in there, you would have had, they were trying to do an overthrow,” Trump said Feb. 2 on the Hugh Hewitt Show.
“They spied on my campaign, and I got rid of them all. … But … it was more than them, and you know that. And you know that’s coming again,” Trump added.
The Post noted “Strzok asserted in the suit that Trump’s administration tolerated partisan political speech by federal employees — but only if it praised Trump and attacked his opponents — and alleged that his removal was ‘part of a broader campaign against the very principle of free speech’ led by the former president.”
