Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who exchanged anti-Trump messages with a colleague, was subpoenaed to sit for a private interview with the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, congressional officials familiar with the subpoena said.
According to Republicans, the text messages between Page and the FBI agent she had an affair with, Peter Strzok, are proof of political bias against President Donald Trump and raise questions about the handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation and the Trump-Russia probe during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Amy Jeffress, an attorney for Page, said her client may need more time to prepare for the interview even though she stressed they have been “working with the Committee staff to arrange Lisa’s voluntary appearance,” ABC News reports.
“We asked the Committee staff to explain the scope of the investigation and provide sufficient notice that would allow her to prepare, which are normal conditions for congressional committees, but these committees have not followed the normal process,” Jeffress said in a statement.
She added that the FBI has not yet provided Page with her documents she needs to prepare despite agreeing to do so.
“Lisa has cooperated voluntarily with another congressional committee that had no objection to explaining the scope of its investigation or providing sufficient notice for her interview. Lisa also cooperated fully with the OIG investigation and appeared voluntarily for multiple interviews, including after she left the FBI,” Jeffress also noted.
The House Judiciary and Oversight committees have scheduled a public hearing with Strzok only a day after Page is interviewed, following a marathon closed-door interview and an open hearing with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Chris Wray two weeks ago.
A report by the Justice Department inspector general recently found that the Clinton probe was in no way affected by the actions of some agents, although President Trump has repeatedly claimed otherwise.
Page, who served as an FBI lawyer and close adviser to former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, resigned from the bureau in May, while Strzok was removed from the special counsel’s team after he learned of the anti-Trump texts.
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