The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday turned down an emergency petition seeking to prevent former President Donald Trump from being deposed in a lawsuit brought against the Department of Justice via Media Ite.
It is noted that the former FBI employees Lisa Page and Peter Strzok are suing the agency in separate lawsuits. Page is suing the DOJ for violation of privacy, while Strzok is alleging wrongful termination.
The two were designated to investigate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state, as well as Russian interference on behalf of Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 election.
It has come to light that the text messages between Page and Strzok, who were in a romantic relationship at the time, reveal they disparaged Trump to one another and wanted Clinton to defeat him in the upcoming election.
Strzok was fired during the Trump administration while Page resigned. The former alleges he was retaliated against by the DOJ for protected speech.
As the Washington Post reported on Friday:
“Attorneys for the Justice Department argued that other officials have already testified that their decisions to release the texts and fire Strzok were made independently of Trump. But the plaintiffs say some of those officials did not recall relevant details, and note that Trump personally took credit for driving them both out of the FBI.”
Last year, the New York Times reported that former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly gave a sworn statement alleging his boss asked about using the IRS to retaliate against the Page and Strzok. Earlier this year, District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled Trump must sit for a deposition in the case. On Friday, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit by a 2-1 vote denied the petition by the DOJ, which will likely appeal the ruling.
