Giuliani slams Strzok testimony

President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani responded harshly Friday to FBI agent Peter Strzok’s congressional testimony by calling it a disgrace. “President Trump is being investigated by people who possess pathological hatred for him,” tweeted Giuliani, the former mayor of New York.

During the hourslong hearing before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees Thursday, Strzok said Giuliani’s public remarks about a “big surprise” coming in the campaign in 2016, made as FBI agents seized and searched the laptop of former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., had him concerned the FBI leaked information about the investigation into Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails during her tenure as secretary of state. Investigators looked at Weiner’s laptop because he was married to a Clinton aide. Giuliani claimed his information came from former FBI agents. Strzok acknowledged it was possible Giuliani was exaggerating, but said, “It caused me great concern that he had information about that—that he should not have had.”

In his testimony, Strzok doubled down on his denial that anti-Trump text messages he sent in 2016 evidenced problematic bias. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., made Strzok read aloud his own texts, including one that called Trump “a disaster.” But Strzok claimed he did not let his political beliefs get in the way of his work. Democrats supported Strzok’s statements and repeatedly called the hearing an attempt to undermine public trust in the FBI and protect Trump.