It’s a classic Friday night news dump, because the Department of Justice (DOJ) knows that this looks like a payoff. Because it IS a payoff.

Former FBI agent Peter Strzok and his affair partner Lisa Page, who were both working on “Crossfire Hurricane” – the FBI “investigation” into Donald Trump’s alleged Russian connections, which the Mueller Report later confirmed was a nothingburger, thanks to the faked Steele Dossier – decided to sue the DOJ because their text messages had been released. They claimed that their “privacy” had been violated. Yes, their “privacy.” While using GOVERNMENT PHONES. Any ding-a-ling who works for the FBI should know that you have no right to privacy when you work for the government and use their devices. Here is a quick reminder of what happened, per POLITICO.

Copies of the messages obtained by POLITICO show the pair reacting to various developments as the presidential race unfolded and that their reaction to Trump was negative from early on.

The exchanges show Page and Strzok mocking Trump as early as mid-2015.

Responding to a Washington Post story about Trump saying it hadn’t been proven that Russian President Vladimir Putin had killed anyone, Page wrote: “What an utter idiot.”

In a March 2016 message, Page exclaimed: “God trump is a loathsome human….omg he’s an idiot.”

“He’s awful,” replied Strzok.

The agents sometimes expressed respect or outright support for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

“God Hillary should win 100,000,000 – 0,” Strzok wrote in March 2016, calling himself a “conservative Dem.”

“Also did you hear [Trump] make a comment about the size of his d*ck earlier? This man can not be president,” Page said later in the exchange.

The following month, after exchanging more disparaging messages about Trump’s response to Gold Star father Khizr Khan, Page appears to suggest to Strzok that he needs to save the country from Trump.

“Maybe you’re meant to stay where you are because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace,” Page wrote.

“I can protect our country at many levels,” Strzok replied.

Press accounts have said Strzok and Page were having an extra-marital affair at the time they exchanged the messages, some of which seem to refer to other family members.

But because Strzok is a smarmy slimeball (as we clearly saw during his testimony to Congress right before he was fired), and Lisa Page obviously has questionable ethics, they pursued this lawsuit against the DOJ. The lawsuit was filed in August of 2019, and has lingered on for nearly five years at this point. Why has it gone on so long without being dismissed? Well, because Strzok’s “side” is now in charge of the DOJ, that’s why. Back in May, the DOJ announced that it had filed paperwork to settle the lawsuit. Wait, you say. Strzok and Page had no right to privacy on government phones! But apparently you can get away with political text messages and plotting and extramarital affairs when Attorney General Merrick Garland is on your side. At that time, Congressman Jim Jordan smelled something fishy afoot, and pushed Garland about the settlement, clearly concerned that Strzok and Page were going to get paid off.

House Republicans challenged Garland at a June 4 hearing over reports that a tentative deal with Strzok and Page had been reached. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) quoted from text messages the pair sent criticizing Trump.

“They are getting money from the taxpayers because you decided that is the right thing to do?” Jordan said. “You go after the president and you are rewarded?”

Jordan’s concerns were right on the mark, as the news broke late Friday that Strzok would be getting a $1.2 million payoff, while Page scored $800,000. For having an affair at work, communicating on government phones about their partisan plotting, and then getting caught.

Former agent Strzok will get $1.2 million and Page, who was an FBI lawyer, will get $800,000, according to settlement agreements obtained by CNN.

Strzok and Page finalized their settlements with the Justice Department in court filings Friday, after alleging the department violated the Privacy Act by releasing to the media texts they exchanged criticizing Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign.

“While I have been vindicated by this result, my fervent hope remains that our institutions of justice will never again play politics with the lives of their employees,” Page said in a statement provided by her attorneys.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter.

Strzok has other ongoing claims in the lawsuit against the department for his termination during the Trump administration.

“This outcome is a critical step forward in addressing the government’s unfair and highly politicized treatment of Pete. As important as it is for him, it also vindicates the privacy interests of all government employees,” Strzok’s attorney Aitan Goelman said in a news release.

“We will continue to litigate Pete’s constitutional claims to ensure that, in the future, public servants are protected from adverse employment actions motivated by partisan politics,” Goelman continued.

There’s a reason why the DOJ declined to comment on this. This is indefensible.

Friday evening news dump shows they know this is a scandal.

— (((tedfrank))) (@tedfrank) July 26, 2024

spit-in-your-eye corruption https://t.co/m9KW1fvXa7

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 26, 2024

And Katie Pavlich gets to the heart of it all.

Strzok was going to lose this lawsuit because like a dum dum he sent the “insurance policy” text messages on a government device, where he knew he had no privacy rights. Biden’s DOJ issues this settlement just in case Trump were to win in November.

Corrupt. https://t.co/R2LFlw65Nf

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) July 26, 2024

And now We the People will give Peter Strzok $1.2 million and Lisa Page $800K for attempting to screw over Donald Trump while screwing each other. This was a lawsuit that they were never supposed to win, but they waited out the Trump DOJ and ended up hitting the jackpot under the Biden DOJ. They’re amoral and disgusting, and the “actions motivated by partisan politics” started with THEM. And now they – and their lawyers – will enjoy the benefits of screwing over the taxpayers.

And Joe Biden the lame duck will just saunter off into the sunset under Hunter’s watchful eye (while Jill is busy living it up in Paris at the Olympics), either oblivious to the corruption at the DOJ, or complicit in it.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click