FBI texts referred to briefing Obama on Russian interference, not Clinton probe: report

Text messages exchanged between two FBI employees stating that then-President Obama wanted “to know everything” referred to the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, not a probe into Hillary Clinton’s email server, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) released a report Tuesday that included the exchange between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page, arguing that the texts raised questions about Obama’s involvement in the investigation into Clinton’s email use.

The report highlights one exchange from September 2016 in which Page wrote, “Potus wants to know everything we’re doing.”

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Associates of Strzok and Page, who were having an affair at the time, reportedly said the two were talking about Obama wanting information on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The exchange occurred days before Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and spoke to him about election tampering, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

By the time the texts were sent, the FBI had closed its investigation into the Clinton email case. It did not reopen the case until October.

The Wall Street Journal report contradicts the claims from Johnson’s report. 

President Trump on Wednesday seized on the report, tweeting “NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!” without any additional context.

Page and Strzok have come under fire in recent months after the discovery of text messages between the two that showed them criticizing President Trump and other political figures.

Republicans have pointed to the text messages as evidence of bias among federal law enforcement officials.

Strzok was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign last summer after the messages were discovered.