FBI/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “One of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress is alleging misconduct by former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, an unproven and disputed assertion that the President amplified Tuesday morning, the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. At issue are claims made by Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, who said on Monday [9-10-18] that newly-discovered text messages between Strzok and Page discussing a ‘media leak strategy with DOJ’ suggest a ‘coordinated effort’ by the FBI and the Justice Department to ‘release information in the public domain potentially harmful to President Donald Trump’s administration.’ Special counsel Robert Mueller removed Strzok from his team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election last summer after an internal investigation uncovered a trove of private text messages with Page showing their contempt for Trump. In turn, the President and his allies on Capitol Hill have seized on these messages, at times pushing claims without providing any evidence to substantiate them, with the apparent aim of discrediting the special counsel’s investigation.”
–Laura Jarrett, Clare Foran and Sophie Tatum, “House Republican, without evidence, suggests new texts show misconduct of former FBI officials,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, September 11, 2018 2:58 pm