According to a sworn statement by former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, during his presidency, Donald Trump discussed the possibility of having the Internal Revenue Service investigate two FBI agents who were probing alleged ties between his 2016 campaign and Russia. This revelation was reported by The New York Times, which noted that Trump suggested targeting Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, both of whom were involved in the investigation.
John Kelly’s recollection of Trump’s comments was based on notes he took in 2018, and he provided copies of these notes to lawyers representing one of the FBI officials. In his statement, Kelly said, “President Trump questioned whether investigations by the Internal Revenue Service or other federal agencies should be undertaken into Mr. Strzok and/or Ms. Page… It appeared, however, that he wanted to see Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page investigated.”
The disclosure of this sworn statement came as part of a lawsuit filed by Strzok and Page, who allege that Trump violated their privacy by publicly releasing their text messages. The statement was submitted under penalty of perjury.
Mr. Kelly said that his recollection of Mr. Trump’s comments to him was based on notes that he had taken at the time in 2018. Mr. Kelly provided copies of his notes to lawyers for one of the F.B.I. officials, who made the sworn statement public in a court filing.
“President Trump questioned whether investigations by the Internal Revenue Service or other federal agencies should be undertaken into Mr. Strzok and/or Ms. Page,” Mr. Kelly said in the statement. “I do not know of President Trump ordering such an investigation. It appeared, however, that he wanted to see Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page investigated.”
The New York Times report noted that it remains unclear whether the IRS actually initiated an investigation into the tax filings of Strzok and Page, who were discovered to have been involved in an extramarital affair. Both individuals were subsequently dismissed from the FBI.
It is worth noting that during Trump’s presidency, former Attorney General Bill Barr appointed a special counsel to investigate the origins of the Russia probe, which resulted in one guilty plea and two acquittals. Neither Strzok nor Page faced charges in relation to this investigation.
Additionally, there were reports last year that Trump’s IRS audited former FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe after he fired them from their positions.
