A FISA judge who earlier handled proceedings against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who was targeted by special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into so-far unsubstantiated claims of Trump campaign collusion with Russia, was friends with a now-demoted FBI agent also involved in the scandal, a report says.
Investigative reporter Sara Carter writes that newly released text messages obtained by congressional investigators show the agent, Peter Strzok, “was close friends with a District of Columbia judge who recused himself from the criminal case” involving Flynn.
The messages, given to Congress by the Department of Justice, show Strzok and his paramour, FBI attorney Lisa Page, exchanged messages about Strzok’s relationship with Judge Rudolph Contreras.
He presided over a Dec. 1, 2017, hearing in which Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, a charge resulting from Mueller’s work.
Strzok was removed, Carter reported, from the special counsel team when anti-Trump text
