Trump criticizes FBI ahead of academy speech

WASHINGTON—An hour before President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the FBI’s training academy Friday, he attacked the bureau for political bias. Trump called newly released text exchanges between two FBI employees, who referred to him as an “idiot” last year, disgraceful. Peter Strzok and Lisa Page both went on to work for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “It’s a shame what’s happened with the FBI,” Trump told reporters Friday morning. “But it is very sad when you look at those documents, and how they’ve done that is really, really disgraceful.” The FBI discovered the text messages in July, and Strzok departed from Mueller’s team soon after. Page is also no longer part of the Russia investigation. Several of the released text messages showed Strzok and Page favored Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election over Trump. In 2016, the FBI concluded a yearlong investigation into Clinton’s email use while secretary of state and recommended no charges. Trump pointed to the texts as evidence of a “rigged system” that exonerated Clinton. Shortly after Trump’s criticisms of the FBI, he delivered an address at the bureau’s National Academy graduation ceremony in Quantico, Va. He pledged unwavering support to the graduates and said he is “more loyal than anyone else could be” to police.