The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is demanding answers from the FBI as to why its lawyers told FBI agent Peter Strzok not to answer many of the panel's questions during a lengthy Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., appeared on Fox News and said Strzok declined to answer some important questions from the committee as it investigates claims the Trump campaign colluded with Russia — and whether Strzok's anti-Trump sentiment impacted his work at the bureau. Strzok was on the Hillary Clinton investigation and worked on the FBI's initial Russia probe and, for a brief time, the special counsel Russia investigation.
"It's a confidential briefing, but I can tell you this: We are now in the 10th hour, and we have still many more questions to ask," Goodlatte said around 7:30 p.m. ET. "However, unfortunately the FBI counsel in the room has instructed Mr. Strzok not to answer many, many questions. That's going to be a serious problem moving forward.
"We will be raising questions with the FBI and with the Department of Justice about why it is that their counsel is instructing him not to answer questions."
When pressed for more information about the questions Strzok was not answering, Goodlatte said they concern the Clinton and Russia probes.
"Primarily, we are asking questions about his central role in both the investigation related to Hillary Clinton and the investigations related to the Trump campaign and so-called Russia collusion," Goodlatte said.
". . . They are advising him not to answer those questions. I think that's inappropriate and certainly not helpful to our investigation in the Congress."
In his testimony Wednesday, Strzok denied the text messages he exchanged with other FBI employees that showed their dislike of President Donald Trump demonstrated they were biased against President Trump during and after the 2016 presidential campaign.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.