FBI/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A top FBI agent last spring expressed skepticism about the burgeoning investigation into Trump associates’ ties to Russian electoral meddling, according to a newly released text message, a few months before his texts critical of the president cost him his role in the special counsel’s probe.
The agent, Peter Strzok, sent a message to a colleague suggesting he was hesitant to join Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s recently formed team because ‘my gut sense and concern is there’s no big there there.’…
He was removed in July, however, after the Justice Department’s inspector general uncovered numerous text messages between Mr. Strzok and Lisa Page, a lawyer at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 2015 and 2016 that were highly critical of the president.
The text was made public by a Republican senator, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Mr. Johnson didn’t release any later texts from Mr. Strzok on the matter, so it wasn’t clear how his thoughts on the investigation may have evolved.”
-Del Quentin Wilber and Aruna Viswanatha, “FBI Agent Was Hesitant to Join Special Counsel’s Russia Probe,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 23, 2018 05:20pm