In his declaration, Rosenstein explained he did not see any legitimate reason to withhold the text messages because they were sent on government phones and subject to FBI review. He also said they were being sought by the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate, for oversight reasons. STRZOK CLAIMS ANTI-TRUMP TEXTS PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT, ADMINISTRATION VIOLATED HIS RIGHTSRosenstein said he released the text messages in their entirety on Dec. 12, 2017, to avoid selective leaking by federal lawmakers, who were set to receive the texts the next day. Page, who eventually resigned from the Bureau, sued the DOJ last month over the release of the text messages, claiming it violated the Federal Privacy Act. "Also, why were the lovers text messages scrubbed after he left Mueller.

Source: Fox News January 18, 2020 23:26 UTC