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Congressman Biggs' Statement on Missing FBI Text Messages

January 22, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that it had failed to preserve five months of text messages between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. The end date of the missing texts coincides with the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Peter Strzok served on the Special Counsel's team before being demoted due to the text messages he had sent to Ms. Page. Congressman Biggs released the following statement:

"This latest revelation from the DOJ is outrageous, but not surprising. Peter Strzok and Lisa Page believed that then-candidate Donald Trump was a threat to this country and appeared to be taking steps, as sworn members of law enforcement, to subvert the will of the American people. Now, it seems that many of their text messages may have suspiciously disappeared.

"Few Americans would ever be allowed to offer up a specious excuse for losing information required for audit. Why should our government be any different? How is this different than the Hillary Clinton erased emails?

"As I've maintained since last summer, Robert Mueller's appointment as Special Counsel is tainted. His position is clouded by a disgruntled former FBI Director's potentially criminal leaks of government memos to influence an ongoing investigation. At every step of Congress's attempts to provide Constitutional oversight to the DOJ and the FBI, we have been met with unparalleled resistance. My patience is wearing thin. The FBI is not an independent agency, yet its leaders appear to think they do not answer to Congress or the President. They are wrong. If they continue to lose or withhold requested information, they will soon experience the consequences that Congress can – and should – provide."

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Congressman Andy Biggs is a first-term Representative from Arizona's Fifth Congressional District, representing parts of Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, and Queen Creek. Congressman Biggs is a member of the House Judiciary and Science, Space, and Technology committees, and is the chairman of the Environment Subcommittee. He lives with his wife, Cindy, in Gilbert.