The Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi asked Strzok if he was aware of any FBI or Justice Department investigations motivated by political bias, and he answered no. “That’s not who we are,” he said. “What distresses me the most are people’s suggestion that the FBI is the sort of place where that even could possibly occur is destructive to the rule of law and the mission of the FBI to protect the United States.”
When it was Page’s turn, Elijah Cummings asked, “Do you agree with the President’s statement that the FBI’s reputation is in tatters and is the worst in history?”
“Well, it is now,” Page answered.
“And why do you say that?”
“Because we continue to be a political punching bag. Because some private texts about our personal opinions continue to be used as a broad brush to describe the entire activity of 36,500 individuals. Because we have been caught up in a place that we never could have possibly imagined, because all of us did the job that was asked of us.”
“Is that painful?”
“It’s horrendous, sir.”
* * *
—
BY MID-2019, PRESIDENT Trump appeared to have the White House counsel, attorney general, and FBI director he wanted. Certainly none is a Roy Cohn, Trump’s model for the ideal lawyer. But the Justice Department’s release of the Strzok-Page texts, its publicizing of their affair, the handling of Strzok’s termination, the demotion of Ohr, and the harsh treatment of McCabe raise disturbing questions about their willingness to stand up to a president and preserve the long tradition of independent law enforcement and the rule of law.
Rosenstein prided himself on seeing Mueller over the finish line. But at what cost? Who emerged the victor in this epic contest? Trump was exonerated of collusion with the Russians, and Barr and Rosenstein moved swiftly to free him from any threat of obstruction of justice charges. More broadly, Trump appears to have gained considerable sway over the institutions that dared to investigate him and thwarted his repeated demands that Hillary Clinton be prosecuted.
On May 13, Barr assigned John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to lead a probe into the origins of the Russia investigation and the roles of the FBI and the Justice Department. In an interview on 60 Minutes, Barr said that “if foreign elements can come in and affect it,” referring to the presidential election, “that’s bad for the republic. But by the same token, it’s just as dangerous to the continuation of self-government and our republican system, that we not allow government power, law enforcement or intelligence power, to play a role in politics, to intrude into politics, and affect elections.”
Sounding every bit the “Deep State” convert, Barr continued, “Republics have fallen because of a Praetorian Guard* mentality where government officials get very arrogant, they identify the national interest with their own political preferences and they feel that anyone who has a different opinion is somehow an enemy of the state. And there is that tendency that they know better and that they’re there to protect as guardians of the people. That can easily translate into essentially supervening the will of the majority and getting your own way as a government official.”
“And you are concerned that that may have happened in 2016?” asked CBS’s chief legal correspondent, Jan Crawford.
“Well, I just think it has to be carefully looked at because the use of foreign intelligence capabilities and counterintelligence capabilities against an American political campaign to me is unprecedented and it’s a serious red line that’s been crossed,” Barr replied.
* * *
—
THE ULTIMATE TEST of their independence will be the willingness of the FBI and the Justice Department to satisfy Trump’s seemingly insatiable thirst for vengeance. For the president hasn’t simply declared victory.
At a White House press conference on May 23, the NBC White House correspondent Peter Alexander pointed out, “Sir, the Constitution says treason is punishable by death. You’ve accused your adversaries of treason,” and asked, “Who specifically are you accusing of treason?”
“Well, I think a number of people.”
“Who are you speaking of?”
“If you look at Comey; if you look at McCabe; if you look at probably people—people higher than that; if you look at Strzok; if you look at his lover, Lisa Page, his wonderful lover—the two lovers, they talked openly.”
Trump elaborated on their alleged misdeeds and concluded, “That’s treason.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
At Penguin Press, my editor, Ann Godoff, immediately embraced the idea, saw its potential, shepherded my reporting, and stepped in with words of encouragement along the often twisted path to its finish. Her assistant, Casey Denis, kept me on schedule. Elisabeth Calamari, executive publicity and marketing associate, greeted my book with enthusiasm.
My long-time agent, Amanda Urban, has been involved in every step of the process from proposal to publication. Her sense of timing has been especially invaluable, and I’m grateful she pushed me to finish when I did.
Brian Gordon served as researcher and fact checker and worked with great speed, efficiency, and accuracy.
Steve Coll, dean of the Columbia Journalism School and a noted author himself, was incredibly supportive.
At The New York Times, I’m lucky to work with a great team of editors and journalists: business editor Ellen Pollock; finance editor David Enrich; my previous editor Bill Brink; deputy business editor Adrienne Carter; and from the masthead, executive editor Dean Baquet and deputy managing editor Matthew Purdy.
I can’t imagine having finished this without my friends and family: my brother, Michael, his wife, Anna, and their children (my nephew Aidan worked for me one summer and did research on the origins of the “Deep State”); my sister, Jane Holden, her husband, John; and my fellow author and editor friends Jane Berentson, Sylvia Nasar, and Arthur Lubow. Steve Swartz was an especially valuable sounding board at our frequent lunches.
I’ve saved the most important for last: Benjamin Weil, my husband, who, among his many talents, is also an outstanding editor and writer. He not only provided sustained love and sustenance but did yeoman’s work on the manuscript as first reader, editor, researcher, and organizer-in-chief. I will be hard-pressed to repay him.
NOTES
This book is the product of over two years of reporting, which included scores of interviews, the review of thousands of pages of transcripts, and research into published sources. These events have been the subject of numerous congressional hearings. Fortunately, many of those transcripts have been made public, including those from closed-door sessions, which provided a rich source of sworn testimony from which to draw.
Many of these events have also been the subject of outstanding reporting by my fellow journalists. I have cited their work in the notes that follow. The work of my Times colleagues Michael Schmidt and Adam Goldman, who were part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for coverage of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, has been exemplary. Reporters from The Washington Post also deserve recognition for their numerous scoops. The Times’s and Post’s coverage is cited disproportionately below.
Nearly all my interviews were on a not-for-attribution basis, which isn’t surprising given the current political climate. Many people named either are the subject of ongoing investigations or fear they will be. Given Trump’s vow to find and punish the “traitors” involved in investigating him, these fears appear to be only too well founded. To the extent sources are quoted by name directly in the text, other than from transcripts or published sources, they are from on-the-record interviews.
I have also used dialogue throughout. What words were spoken are facts like any others. Many are from transcripts or recordings. In those instances I have generally corrected grammatical errors and deleted repeated words and verbal tics. Others are based on the recollections of participants in the conversations. Some
dialogue was included in official reports, such as the Mueller report.
I’m grateful to the many people who agreed to be interviewed, in some cases on many occasions and at great length. It took courage and trust on their part to speak to a reporter and author who, in most cases, they’d never met. I hope the day comes when they can reveal themselves without fear of retribution.
Introduction
all white males: “Directors, Then and Now,” FBI.gov.
the election made him “nauseous”: Comey remarks at Senate Judiciary Committee, May 3, 2017.
published a controversial “dossier”: “These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties to Russia,” BuzzFeed News, January 10, 2017.
formal FBI investigation into possible collusion: House Intelligence Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, March 20, 2017.
new mission statement: James Comey, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership (New York: Flatiron Books, 2018), p. 263.
“JAMES COMEY RESIGNS”: “Did Fox News Report That James Comey Resigned?,” Snopes, May 10, 2017.
“TRUMP FIRES FBI DIRECTOR COMEY”: CNN, May 9, 2017.
As McCabe walked in: Andrew McCabe, The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2019), 8.
“No,” Rosenstein interjected: Ibid., 10.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump informed”: “Statement from the Press Secretary,” May 9, 2017.
Once outside, he fielded calls: Comey, Higher Loyalty, 264–65.
The two communicated constantly: “Peter Strzok–Lisa Page Texts,” FBI Archives.
At 8:40 p.m., he texted Page: Ibid.
had sent a letter to Trump the prior year: Memorandum, June 8, 2018.
four-page letter to congressional leaders: William Barr to Lindsey Graham et al., March 24, 2019.
“complete and total exoneration”: “Remarks by President Trump Before Air Force One Departure,” Whitehouse.gov, March 24, 2019.
“It was an illegal investigation”: “Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure,” Whitehouse.gov, April 10, 2019.
“I think spying did occur”: “Justice Department Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request,” C-SPAN, April 10, 2019.
Chapter One: “Nobody Gets Out Alive”
Obama said he’d seek: “Obama Seeking Extension for Director of F.B.I.,” New York Times, May 12, 2011.
Comey wasn’t exactly a clone of Mueller: Comey, Higher Loyalty, 5–14.
“You did not shade”: Garrett M. Graff, The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War in the Age of Terror (New York: Little, Brown, 2011), 492.
“standing for something. Making a difference”: Comey, Higher Loyalty, 13.
“Perhaps because I did survive”: Graff, Threat Matrix, 290.
As Mueller told graduates: “Robert Mueller’s 2013 Commencement Remarks,” College of William & Mary, May 12, 2013.
“I don’t care about politics”: Comey, Higher Loyalty, 94.
“Like those before us”: “American Civil Liberties Union 2003 Inaugural Membership Conference,” June 13, 2003, FBI.gov.
“whole life was about doing things”: Comey, Higher Loyalty, 88.
“Thousands of people are going to die”: Ibid., 86.
Comey reached Ashcroft’s room: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the U.S. attorney firings, May 15, 2007.
Mueller arrived a few minutes later: Robert Swan Mueller Program Log, March 10, 2004.
“the law had held”: Comey, Higher Loyalty, 91.
“Here I stand”: Ibid., 96.
“some officials familiar with the continuing”: “Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Caller Without Courts,” New York Times, December 16, 2005.
“contrary to Hollywood-style myth”: Alberto R. Gonzales, True Faith and Allegiance: A Story of Service and Sacrifice in War and Peace (Nashville: Nelson Books, 2016).
Gonzales never recovered politically: “Embattled Attorney General Resigns,” New York Times, August 27, 2007.
“a near contempt for partisan politics”: “Is James Comey Too Self-Righteous to Save Us from Terror?,” Newsweek, June 5, 2013.
“The biggest of Mr. Comey’s misjudgments”: “The Political Mr. Comey,” Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2013.
This time Eric Holder: Comey, Higher Loyalty, 118–20.
“I need to sleep at night”: Ibid., 119.
“Once you are director”: Ibid., 120.
“I know that everyone here joins me”: “Remarks by the President at Nomination of James Comey as Director of the FBI,” Whitehouse.gov, June 21, 2013.
“there were only the two of you”: McCabe, Threat, 166.
after an “exhaustive” investigation: “Investigative Report on the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11–12, 2012,” U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, November 21, 2014.
Clinton answered reporters’ questions: “Hillary Clinton Tries to Quell Controversy over Private Email,” New York Times, March 10, 2015.
“It took eight days”: “Hillary Clinton Formally Announces 2016 Run,” Politico, April 12, 2015.
“improbable quest”: “Donald Trump, Pushing Someone Rich, Offers Himself,” New York Times, June 16, 2015.
“an uphill battle”: “Donald Trump Announces Presidential Bid,” Washington Post, June 16, 2015.
honoring David Margolis’s fifty years: “Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis’ 50th Anniversary at the Department of Justice—Part 2,” U.S. Department of Justice, June 17, 2015.
he made a formal referral: “Clinton E-mail Investigation: Mishandling of Classified—Unknown Subject or Country (SIM),” U.S. Department of Justice, July 2016.
“sensitive investigative matter”: (U) Sensitive Investigative Matter/Academic Nexus, “Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide,” Federal Bureau of Investigation.
the FBI operating manual: “Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide,” Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10-1.
“was considered one of, if not the foremost”: Interview of Edward William Priestap, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, 31.
“You know you are totally screwed”: Comey, Higher Loyalty, 168.
Chapter Two: “The Doors That Led to Hell”
Less than two weeks after the Clinton email referral: “Inquiry Sought in Hillary Clinton’s Use of Email,” New York Times, July 23, 2015.
the Espionage Act: The Espionage Act of 1917, University of Houston Digital History.
“gross negligence”: Title 18-CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, Office of the Law Revision Counsel: United States Code, 18 USC 793.
what, exactly, constitutes “gross negligence”: A Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election, U.S. Department of Justice, 26–34.
Over the summer, the FBI team: “Clinton E-mail Investigation: Mishandling of Classified—Unknown Subject of Country (SIM),” 18–22, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
the comment made him “queasy”: “Comey Says He Felt ‘Queasy’ After Lynch Directive on Email Probe,” Politico, June 8, 2017.
At the press roundtable: “F.B.I. Chief Says Politics Won’t Interfere with Inquiry on Hillary Clinton’s Email,” New York Times, October 1, 2015.
“You know, she made a mistake”: “President Obama,” CBS News, October 11, 2015.
Comey tapped McCabe: “Andrew McCabe Named Deputy Director of the FBI,” FBI National Press Office, January 29, 2016.
running for statewide office: McCabe, Threat, 168–73.
Under the Hatch Act: Political Activities, U.S. Department of Justice, updated March 22, 2016.
He didn’t vote: “FBI Director Says He’s No Longer a Registered R
epublican,” Politico, July 7, 2016.
“You guys are finally going to get that bitch”: Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election, 199.
“It is always a great honor”: “Trump Says ‘Great Honor’ to Get Compliments from ‘Highly Respected’ Putin,” ABC News, December 17, 2015.
“I’m no prude”: “Peter Strzok–Lisa Page Texts,” FBI Archives.
“because I was on the Clinton investigation”: Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election, 401.
“personal opinion talking to a friend”: “FBI Agent Peter Strzok Faces Questions on Anti-Trump Texts,” CNN Transcripts, July 12, 2018.
“bright and inviolable line”: Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election, 400.
case against James J. Smith: “F.B.I. Agent Pleads Guilty in Deal in Chinese Spy Case,” New York Times, May 13, 2004.
the gross negligence charges were never litigated: Kelly J. Smith, “An Enemy of Freedom: United States v. James J. Smith and the Assault on the Fourth Amendment,” Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 39 (December 2006): 1424.
Petraeus pleaded guilty to one: “Criminal Prohibitions on Leaks and Other Disclosures of Classified Defense Information,” Congressional Research Service, 24–25.
“large volumes of highly classified information”: “Improper Handling of Classified Information by John M. Deutch,” Central Intelligence Agency, February 18, 2000.
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