IG Report: Mueller Wiped Peter Strzok's Phone Before Giving it to Investigators
Inspector General's report shows FBI agent's iPhone was scrubbed clean
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Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team wiped the iPhone belonging to disgraced former FBI agent Peter Strzok before it was handed over to investigators, the inspector general's bombshell new report has revealed.
Mueller's team scrubbed anti-Trump Agent Strzok's phone of all data and settings after determining "it contained no substantive text messages."
The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published the report on its investigation into the recovery of text messages from FBI mobile devices that were relevant to the ongoing Russia probe.
Among those devices were smartphones once operated by Strzok and his ex-lover and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page.
DOJ OIG releases report of investigation describing the recovery of text messages from certain FBI mobile devices https://t.co/CqkVpvwrmo pic.twitter.com/i55upCXk4B
— Justice OIG (@JusticeOIG) December 13, 2018
Both Strzok and Page were later found to have conspired in an anti-Trump campaign to leak stories to the press.
During text message threads that have been recovered, the pair discussed their desire for Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 election.
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According to national security expert Jordan Schachtel, the report reveals disturbing details about the inner workings and lack of transparency in the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, who has been investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election for the past 575 days and has failed to publicize any evidence of Trump-Russia “collusion.”
The OIG report found that all of the texts off of Strzok’s and Page’s mobile phones that they had received while they were working for the special counsel’s office (SCO) were deleted.
So Mueller's team wiped ALL of the data off of Peter Strzok's iPhone after determining "it contained no substantive text messages." Given what we know about Strzok, this smells like quite the coverup. Time for Congress to step in?https://t.co/mOgpBbDVO4 pic.twitter.com/9w2mEPK64C
— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) December 13, 2018
“SCO’s Records Officer told the OIG that as part of the office’s records retention procedure, the officer reviewed Strzok’s DOJ issued iPhone after he returned it to the SCO and determined it contained no substantive text messages,” the OIG report said.
According to the report, Strzok’s phone had been “reset to factory settings,” which means it was completely wiped of all of its data.
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Additionally, the SCO claimed it “was unable to locate the iPhone previously assigned to Page.”
When the phone was finally found, it too had all of its data deleted and was reset to factory settings, according to the report.
Hmm. Mueller’s Office reset Strzok’s iPhone and at first couldn’t locate Page’s iPhone. When they found it, that too had been reset. SCO scrubbed Strzok’s phone after he was fired because it didn’t contain any “substantive texts, notes or reminders.” Lol. https://t.co/ut5Zn6Pq0L
— Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) December 13, 2018
This is peculiar, given that Strzok and Page were dismissed from the SCO after texts surfaced showing that the couple had a strong anti-Trump bias.
Additionally, further texts appeared to show that they were prepared to take action in their official capacity as FBI agents to “stop” candidate Trump from winning the election, citing an “insurance policy” they had put together.
* Strzok texts he'll "stop Trump"
— Razor (@hale_razor) December 13, 2018
* Strzok texts that NYT is upset about WaPo scoop.
* Strzok texts Page re "insurance policy"
* Mueller then smashes their phones with a virtual hammer.
Go on how you're concerned about corruption, obstruction of justice, and collusion. https://t.co/6267rsEahS
The OIG report raises questions about the transparency of the Mueller investigation as a whole.
It adds fuel to the narrative that Mueller was appointed in order to protect corrupt institutions and cover up wrongdoing by elements of the federal government, instead of shining a light on corruption within it.
