Rep. Darrell Issa Monday cheered the FBI for its decision to fire special agent Peter Strzok over a series of anti-Trump messages he exchanged with former girlfriend and FBI attorney Lisa Page, but noted the government's red tape kept the agency from acting sooner.
"The process of getting rid of anyone in federal government other than political appointees is long and laborious," the California lawmaker told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
"They are usually covered by one or even two different protections, the Civil Service Act and unions. The process goes on forever."
In Strzok's case, "the goods were on this individual," said Issa, a member of the House Judiciary Committee. "He had really brought shame on the FBI, an agency in which most agents keep their politics to themselves and keep their biases literally out of their conduct."
On Sunday, Rep. Lindsey Graham called the Department of Justice investigation into Russian meddling "rotten to the core" and said there should be a second special counsel to investigate the Justice Department, but Issa pointed out that Attorney General Jeff Sessions hasn’t recused himself from investigating misconduct.
It's also within Sessions' ability to appoint an individual who has full power to investigate the Department of Justice including having subpoena authority and to get to the bottom of past misconduct, said Issa.
"Without it we the American people and even the president can't have confidence in the department of justice and we need that," he added.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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