I'm Just Surprised It Took This Long For FBI To Fire Strzok

The FBI fired agent Peter Strzok -- the agent who texted personal and disparaging messages about Donald Trump to his FBI colleague (and lover) on his work phone. Both the phone and the account connected to the phone were government property.

Trump, as the tweet above shows, is trying to take advantage of Strzok's firing. As usual, Trump is lying. Strzok was not in charge of the investigation (witch hunt). Trump just wants to try to make the investigation look biased -- in spite of the fact that Mueller immediately removed Strzok from the investigation as soon as he learned of the offending texts.

I am far from being a Trump supporter (as regular readers of this blog will know). And some may expect me to try and defend Strzok. I can't do that.

Do I think Strzok was biased on his FBI investigations? No, I don't. Does he have a good reputation (outside of the texting). Yes, he does. By all accounts, Strzok was a good agent who did a good job for the agency. But that is not the question here.

I am not surprised that he was fired by the FBI. I'm just surprised that it took so long. And I cannot defend his actions. He did a very stupid thing. He used his government phone to make disparaging remarks about politicians. By doing so, he embarrassed his bosses and the FBI. No government agency will put up with that.

I have never been a federal employee, but I did work for the state of Texas for three decades. And I was issued a state phone and a state e-mail account. I, and my co-workers, knew we were not to misuse those accounts. We were not to use them for gossip, spreading jokes, or disparaging politicians (of either political party). Those accounts were for only one purpose -- to do the job more effectively for our employer (the state of Texas). We knew misusing them could (and probably would) result in losing our job.

I can't believe that an agent as experienced as Strzok didn't know the same thing. He used the government account so his wife wouldn't discover his lover (who he texted), and in those texts to his lover, he disparaged Trump and other politicians.That is a misuse of government property. Those accounts were paid for by the American taxpayer, and should not have been used in the way Strzok used them.

I understand why Strzok was fired, and I have no problem with it. But people should also understand that the firing does not make Trump innocent and does not make the Mueller investigation a witch hunt. In spite of what Trump wants us to believe, Mueller (and his staff) continue their work in a nonpartisan and professional manner.