The Real Reasons Peter Strzok was Fired from the FBI

The Real Reasons Peter Strzok was Fired from the FBI

There are certainly more than just the anti-Trump text messages sent by former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok that led the second in command at the FBI to fire him. FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich actually overruled a recommendation by the bureau’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) to suspend and demote the former senior agent, and instead, terminated Strzok on Friday.

But, what could have led FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich, to make the decision to overrule OPR? Why didn’t FBI Director Christopher Wray take charge and fire Strzok himself? And more importantly, why would OPR recommend Strzok–who was charged with handling the investigation into alleged collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia–only receive a 60-day suspension and demotion?

So there is already a thread on him being fired however an article by Sara Carter has more information. Apparently the OPR recommended Strzok be suspended for 60 days and demoted. The Deputy Director over OPR, who has the authority to override OPR decisions, did just that and terminated Strzok. However the reason for his termination goes beyond his text messages and his lack of candor.

Apparently Strzok did in fact know who paid for the dossier before the FISA warrant was submitted (first FISA warrant). Strzok drafted or final reviewed the first FISA application and knowingly omitted the information on who paid for the dossier (which is a fraud on the court and violation of DOJ policies / laws).

Strzok would have also been involved in the handling of the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) application to the FISC (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court)…” The agent noted that Strzok was “well aware that he was lying by deception when they did not include the information on who paid for the dossier and (that) Bruce Ohr was back-channeling information for a discredited source.”

“Strzok knew they were not putting the application in the right context,” the former FBI supervisory special agent added. “If there was the slightest doubt if that application was not 100 percent true, then that application would not go forward.”

The kicker - Rosenstein would have also known who paid for the dossier so by signing off on the FISA application he either did not read it (again an excuse that wont fly with courts) or he saw it and decided not to do anything about it, which again is lying to the court in order to gain a FISA warrant. Apparently if the source of the dossier was included in the FISA application, that the Clinton campaign / DNC paid for it, the FISA app would not have been approved.

he agent continued, “I find it absolutely preposterous that (former) Deputy Director Rod Rosenstein is still in his position knowing that he signed off on the final FISA” application. Rosenstein oversees the special counsel investigation after DOJ Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the case. He signed off on the final FISA warrant in the Spring of 2017, allowing the FBI to continue spying on former Trump campaign volunteer, Carter Page.

The FBI official said Rosenstein should have been aware of the “lack of information” contained in the application. During a House hearing in June, Rosenstein noted that he doesn’t read through all the applications that are brought for his signature, saying “it depends on the circumstances.”

Click link for full article...

Currently the head of OPR, a division former agents say is trained by politics and friends over bad ethics, was appointed by... you guessed it - Mueller back in 2004. She couldn't be reached for comment on this article.

So yeah.... Just more evidence of how corrupt this investigation and the people involved in it are.

Rep. Jim Jordan
‏Verified account @Jim_Jordan
8h8 hours ago

Strzok fired today. Never forget:

Director Comey: fired
Dep Dir McCabe: fired
Chief Counsel Baker: demoted, left
Chief of Staff Rybicki: left
FBI Counsel Page: demoted, then left
Dep Dir of Counterintel Strzok: demoted, FIRED

Never seen a federal agency where that’s happened

Paul Sperry
‏ @paulsperry_
3h3 hours ago

The FBI director, his deputy, and their lead counterintelligence investigator supervising both the Clinton and Trump investigations have all now been fired. Tells you something about the Comey FBI, eh?

Also -
The source is Breitbart however the info thats being reported on testimony is my primary focus and is coming from Mark Meadows -
DOJ Official Bruce Ohr to Testify on His Close Relationship with Christopher Steele

Justice Department Official Bruce Ohr is expected to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee on August 28 about his relationship with Trump dossier author Christopher Steele, according to Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC).

“DOJ official Bruce Ohr will come before Congress on August 28 to answer why he had 60+ contacts with dossier author Chris Steele, as far back as January 2016. He owes the American public the full truth,” Meadows tweeted Friday.

also -

Lawmakers believe Ohr is key to finding out how the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid Fusion GPS and Steele to fuel a conspiracy of Trump campaign collusion with Russians at the top levels of the Justice Department and the FBI.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) said Sunday to Fox News’ sMaria Bartiromo:

So here you have information flowing from the Clinton campaign from the Russians, likely — I believe was handed directly from Russian propaganda arms to the Clinton campaign, fed into the top levels of the FBI and Department of Justice to open up a counter-intelligence investigation into a political campaign that has now polluted nearly every top official at the DOJ and FBI over the course of the last couple years. It is absolutely amazing,

During the 2016 election, Ohr served as associate deputy attorney general, and as an assistant to former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and to then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. His office was four doors down from Rosenstein on the fourth floor. He was also dual-hatted as the director of the DOJ’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Ohr’s contacts with Steele, an ex-British spy, are said to date back more than a decade. Steele is a former FBI informant who had helped the FBI prosecute corruption by FIFA officials. But it is Ohr and Steele’s communications in 2016 that lawmakers are most interested in.

Emails handed over to Congress by the Justice Department show that Ohr, Steele, and Simpson communicated throughout 2016, and Steele and Simpson were being paid by the Clinton campaign and the DNC to dig up dirt on Trump.

click link for full article and source article links from the Hill.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Also from the article:

Former FBI special agents, some of whom worked with OPR for years, said they agree with Bodwich’s decision. They told SaraACarter.com that the system is broken and Bodwich had no other choice but to step in and fire Strzok. They say political leanings, friendships and dual systems of justice inside OPR have plagued how cases regarding FBI agents are adjudicated and handled.

Sounds like a mess.

originally posted by: Xcathdra

The FBI official said Rosenstein should have been aware of the “lack of information” contained in the application. During a House hearing in June, Rosenstein noted that he doesn’t read through all the applications that are brought for his signature, saying “it depends on the circumstances.”

He’s an Attorney for goodness sakes…mine told me not to sign anything without reading it first. Rosey must of been sick or skipping class that day at Harvard.

That was the subject that caused Rosenstein some obvious stress at the hearing. He was very uncomfortable and weasly when the topic came up. He KNOWS he signed some crap.

He may or may not have known at the time but he certainly does now and did gymnastics trying to distance himself from the FISA contents.

Stand by. There's mos' def' more coming. Just the fact that they are fighting to the last to not turn over or to heavily redact the docs is telling evidence by itself.

originally posted by: The GUT
Stand by. There's mos' def' more coming. Just the fact that they are fighting to the last to not turn over or to heavily redact the docs is telling evidence by itself.

I keep seeing people saying Trump is to declassify the 18+/- pages from one of the warrants. I also keep hearing that the DOJ/FBI has pissed Trump / Congress off so much by refusing to turn stuff over that is is going to just declassify it all and let the chips land where they may.

Given what I know regarding investigations and prosecutions it leads me to think we might be nearing the end of most of this mess. You dont release info if it jeopardizes an investigation / prosecution. The only reason to do is it when you have enough concrete evidence that releasing the info wont interfere with a prosecution.

I seriously think people who dont like Trump / went after him may have underestimated him.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Let's hope the FBI doesn't rehire all of them like the IRS did.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Excellent job on the OP, XC, really excellent

I wish I could be shocked, outraged, something... but this is exactly the dirty dealing we knew was going on. And so much more. This is the tip of the iceberg.

I want to see indictments. I want to see restitution. I want to see a ban on these corrupt critters ever serving in a position of public trust again. I don't need them to go to jail -- they've cost us enough already! -- but I'd like to see some ankle monitors and probation officers and community service.

Okay maybe 90 days... at a new tent city built just for them during the dog days of summer in the Arizona desert

originally posted by: Boadicea

Okay maybe 90 days... at a new tent city built just for them during the dog days of summer in the Arizona desert

Or reeducation camps. Storytime parables and character-building classes. Some Kool aid and coloring books based on the constitution. Nap time.

a reply to: Xcathdra

I seriously think people who dont like Trump / went after him may have underestimated him.

Understatement of the year. He saw the traps from the very start and set his own traps immediately. They thought he was a yokel, when he's been playing cutthroat his whole adult life.

I dont think reeducation camps would work with these people to be honest. The fact they think they did nothing wrong and were somehow protecting the US tells me all I need to know about their mindset and what they think of themselves.

I do believe they should be prosecuted with the caveat that politicians involved, regardless of R or D after their name, be prosecuted as well. If the politicians constantly get off the hook while those lower in the food chain get punished then we arent fixing the problem. We are just creating a situation where people who move up in the system because of the terminations of their superiors find themselves in a position to be bought off with money or political influence for doing favors of the crooked politicians and the cycle just repeats iteself.

My question -
Do we really believe the Directors for he FBI / CIA / DNI decided upon themselves that Clinton must be elected and Trump stopped? Actively engaging in an operation to defraud the public in order to get one of the Presidential candidates out of the race only to engage in an active coup once he is elected is treason / sedition at the highest levels. There is no point in doing that unless someone higher up the food chain in the political side is going to reward you for taking that risk.

Personally I believe these traitors got caught because they underestimated Trump supporters. When Trump won they all panicked and here we are.

a reply to: Xcathdra

One way or the other I don't think it will be too long before those 20-40 pages are redacted. Those that have seen it (and have been consistently right) sound confident on how revealing it is.

Not to forget that there's various investigations going on right now from the IG and others like the leak sting.

I have a theory in addition to those reasons in Sara's article. The IG reporting problems behind the scene is what happened to Strzok and McCabe the first time and we know Horowitz is looking at FISA abuse right now and that means Strzok dead center.

originally posted by: The GUT

Or reeducation camps. Storytime parables and character-building classes. Some Kool aid and coloring books based on the constitution. Nap time.

Oooh... I like that! But how about we make that "and reeducation camps" instead of "or reeducation camps"?

originally posted by: pavil
a reply to: Xcathdra

I seriously think people who dont like Trump / went after him may have underestimated him.

Understatement of the year. He saw the traps from the very start and set his own traps immediately. They thought he was a yokel, when he's been playing cutthroat his whole adult life.

Part of me wonders if this is why Trump is so gung-ho about our military. While I believe Trump has real affection for our armed forces he does have a larger than usual amount of retired military officials in key senior positions / cabinet positions. He has augmented his Secret Service detail with people from his private security detail before he was President.

It is almost like he knew what he was walking into (Thanks to Admiral Rogers of the NSA) and decided after reviewing the facts that he could count on the military until he figures out where the corruption and threats are coming from.

Given the media and Democrats are now in overdrive to drag him down before the midterms only reinforces what I believe is occurring and what Trump is doing to expose and stop it.

a reply to: Xcathdra

It's sad that the worst to come from this is a criminal losing a job they do not deserve.

Another blindingly bright display of U.S. politics for the world to digest. Zero craps given by the average person and business as usual for D.C.

a reply to: Xcathdra

I agree. Trump is probably the only modern Presidential Candidate who had his own security/intelligence departments prior to his running for office.

To think he didn't think everyone was gunning for him is folly.

originally posted by: pavil
a reply to: Xcathdra

I seriously think people who dont like Trump / went after him may have underestimated him.

Understatement of the year. He saw the traps from the very start and set his own traps immediately. They thought he was a yokel, when he's been playing cutthroat his whole adult life.

You made me laugh Trump doesn't avoid traps, in fact often times he sets new ones for himself. Trump often days or does the wrong thing leading to him having to deal with the mess. What Trump is good at is bullying his way through things. He will say or do whatever he needs to in order to win the fight.

This leads to him lying if necessary and this leads to publicly trashing opponent's. Not very presidential but in honesty has worked because democrats are not used to dealing with someone like Trump.

a reply to: dragonridr


If "democrats are not used to dealing with someone like Trump."
It's only because they have divorced themselves from reality.

Trump is little different (from what I have seen) from many CEOs; Board presidents; and Executive Directors I have had to work with.

a reply to: dragonridr

and how many people from the DOJ/FBI have been fired so far? None of the SC prosecutions / plea agreements have anything to do with Trump/Russia. Clinton still lost and is under investigation...

and Trump is the idiot?

fair enough. believe what you wish.

So, some of the information for the Dossier that the Democratic party sort of paid for came from the Russians. Why isn't that collusion with Russia since Russians actually contributed to setting up this turmoil. Maybe we are looking for collusion on the wrong side.

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: pavil
a reply to: Xcathdra

I seriously think people who dont like Trump / went after him may have underestimated him.

Understatement of the year. He saw the traps from the very start and set his own traps immediately. They thought he was a yokel, when he's been playing cutthroat his whole adult life.

Part of me wonders if this is why Trump is so gung-ho about our military. While I believe Trump has real affection for our armed forces he does have a larger than usual amount of retired military officials in key senior positions / cabinet positions. He has augmented his Secret Service detail with people from his private security detail before he was President.

It is almost like he knew what he was walking into (Thanks to Admiral Rogers of the NSA) and decided after reviewing the facts that he could count on the military until he figures out where the corruption and threats are coming from.

Given the media and Democrats are now in overdrive to drag him down before the midterms only reinforces what I believe is occurring and what Trump is doing to expose and stop it.

"Art of War" that's all I'm saying. That and the "Book of the Five Rings" (or Five Spheres, depending on how the title was translated in your copy) were basic reads for business men back in the 80's, so why does everyone seem to conclude that Trump doesn't know a thing about strategy.

I will disagree with you on this one little point;
Admiral Rodgers wasn't his go to on these intel matters, I think it was that weird meeting he had with Petraeus during his political pre-planning meetings in Florida. They always stuck me as weird that Trump met with Petraeus in Trump Tower, then had most of his meetings at the golf courses. I wondered what those meetings were about, and why did Petraeus have his military Think Tank meeting in between the meetings. Though my clueing in on Petraeus is just my opinion though, you might be right with the assertion that Admiral Rodgers could be his go-to.

originally posted by: rickymouse
So, some of the information for the Dossier that the Democratic party sort of paid for came from the Russians. Why isn't that collusion with Russia since Russians actually contributed to setting up this turmoil. Maybe we are looking for collusion on the wrong side.

It is.. To put it more accurately -

The DNC / Clinton foundation paid a law firm who hired FusionGPS who hired a British National who worked for MI6 who worked with Russian nations, some of who are GRU to obtain information about Trump that is not only inaccurate but a flat out lie and then tried to pass it off as US intelligence gleaned information while using certain media outlets the Democrats own to run stories to help create a false illusion that the claims in the dossier are true. We also recently found out that one of the Russian sources was living in the US and is linked to Mueller from an earlier investigation when he was FBI director that was also off the books. Mr. Steele was also apart of that earlier investigation.

The FISA warrant application intentionally omitted the source of the funding because it would reveal the info was not intelligence obtained but rather bought by the DNC / Clinton campaign / Obama.

That doesnt even include the fact the Clinton campaign reached out to and worked with the Ukrainian government to help find dirt on Trump. Something that has been ignored by the media.