Clusterfucks On Parade: Part Two - Fuckery At Home

We now move from fuckery abroad to fuckery at home.

Specificially, Thursday’s Congressional hearing with FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok.  

Republicans lashed out at Strzok: “Fuck you  and your anti-Trump sentiment bias!”  

But Strzok hit back at GOP: “Fuck you for kissing Trump’s ass and sucking on Putin’s dick!”

That went on for nine hours. It would’ve been more fun if weren’t for all the loud calamity of democracy crashing down around us. 

 “Let me be clear, unequivocally and under oath: Not once in my 26 years of defending my nation did my personal opinions impact any official action I took,” Strzok said in his opening statement to the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, his first public remarks on the matter.

In his first question, House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy pressed Strzok on how many witnesses he had interviewed in the first eight days of the Russia probe and Strzok said FBI counsel instructed him not to discuss the ongoing probe.

House Judiciary Chairman Goodlatte quickly interjected and ordered Strzok to answer the question or risk contempt proceedings.

“You are under subpoena,” Goodlatte said.

“I do not believe I am here under subpoena,” Strzok replied.

Or to translate this another way.

“Fuck you!” Goodlatte said.

“No, fuck YOU!” Strzok replied.

This would be so much more fun if there wasn't so much fuckery abounding.   

There are rules about providing info on an ongoing investigation.  

Trump and GOP allies have fixated on Strzok after a series of text messages revealed deep anti-Trump sentiment from Strzok and former FBI attorney Lisa Page.

Strzok indicated in one 2016 message that Trump wouldn’t become president because “we’ll stop it.”

Here is what Strzok said about that: “I am sorry. I am sorry for these texts and the way they’ve been used, for the harm and hurt they’ve caused my family, for the perception of people in the public. I am sorry and deeply regretful for that.“

Strzok played a central role in the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server and.....

Oh dear God! Not the emails again! 

Sigh. 

Strzok was also on the Russia probe and even briefly joined special counsel Robert Mueller’s team. Mueller removed Strzok after DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz uncovered Strzok’s messages.

In a sharp back-and-forth between Strzok and Gowdy, Strzok denied that he was removed from Mueller’s team because of his anti-Trump sentiment but rather for the “appearance” of bias. He accused Gowdy of misrepresenting his testimony on the matter and said he didn’t “appreciate” it.

"I don’t give a damn what you appreciate,” Gowdy shot back, thinking he's on an episode of Law & Order.  

You, Ted Gowdy, sir, are no Sam Waterston.   

Strzok’s voice rose as he defended himself against charges of bias.  He said his text suggesting “we’ll stop” Trump was a reference to American voters. He said the comment came shortly after Trump criticized the family of a fallen soldier that appeared at the Democratic National Convention. He said Trump had displayed “horrible, disgusting behavior” and that was the sentiment behind his text.  “It was in no way any suggestion that me, the FBI would take any action,” he said.

Strzok later said he was sure after Trump insulted the Gold Star Family that “there was no way that the American population was going to elect this man.” He said his text to Page, saying “we’ll stop” Trump was an “off the cuff, ‘hey don’t worry about it’ sort of comment.”

Strzok also offered context and explanations for some of the most controversial texts touted by Republicans as evidence of bias in the Russia investigation.

Under questioning from Nadler, Strzok said he was aware of FBI personnel who were either pro- or anti-Trump. But he said he had no knowledge that any of those officials’ personal beliefs bled into their work at the bureau.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) asked Strzok to read, and in some cases repeat, some of his harshest text messages in which he criticized Trump, including one calling his potential presidency “destabilizing.”

Strzok, offered time to respond to Issa’s request, said the context of that text was significant: It came on the heels of a campaign speech in which Trump had cast doubt about whether he’d continue the U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance. Trump has harshly criticized NATO and threatened to pull out of the military alliance in Brussels on Thursday unless European leaders spent more for mutual defense.

Strzok defended himself and the FBI against charges that they had pre-cooked the investigation of Clinton’s email server to exonerate her. 

Page was expected to testify behind closed doors on Wednesday but defied a congressional subpoena after her lawyer accused the committees of “bullying tactics” and failing to give her a chance to prepare. GOP lawmakers threatened to hold her in contempt of Congress. On Thursday, Goodlatte announced Page had agreed to sit for an interview Friday and Monday with the House Judiciary and Oversight committees.

Strzok‘s testimony raises the stakes for Page, with Republicans surely looking for daylight between their recollections that could raise questions about their version of events.

Trump has spent months attacking Strzok and Page on Twitter and suggesting the Mueller probe is illegitimate because of Strzok’s brief role in it. He accused both of ducking congressional testimony, though Strzok has already testified for 11 hours privately to the two House committees and Page’s lawyer Amy Jeffress indicated she had already given testimony to a different committee.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) provoked a furor in the hearing when he swiped at Strzok’s “smirk” and then wondered, “How many times did you look so innocent into your wife’s eyes,” a reference to Strzok’s affair with Page.

Democrats erupted. “It’s like an insane asylum,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) exclaimed. Another Democrat was heard shouting “You need your medication!“

When the room quieted, Strzok lit into Gohmert and his decision to raise a personal matter in which a family member was “hurting.” It “goes more to a discussion of your character,” Strzok said.

And so the fuckery at home goes on.