A federal judge said Thursday that former President Donald Trump could be indicted in a pair of lawsuits filed by two former FBI employees.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the couple’s lawyers, former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI attorney Lisa Page, can ask Trump questions on limited topics for a certain period of time. Strzok and Page have been publicly criticized by the former president for years after text messages between the two disparaging Trump and expressing concern that he would win the presidency were released.
Strzok was fired from the FBI amid a political firestorm, and Page resigned soon after. Both claim they were targeted for political revenge; Strzok sued for reinstatement and back pay, and Page sued, saying posting the lyrics violated federal privacy laws.
“The court authorized the plaintiffs to take statements from each witness not to exceed two hours and be limited to a narrow set of specific topics,” Jackson ruled Thursday after a closed hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The order also applies to current FBI Director Christopher Wray. It is unclear whether the depositions will continue because Berman’s order gives the White House a month to determine whether the Justice Department will invoke executive privilege over Trump’s testimony.
Politico reported that the judge also left room for Trump to argue that he has the right to invoke the privilege himself as a former president.
The ruling comes after attorneys for Strzok and Page said they interviewed dozens of lower-ranking officials and sources related to the lawsuit and needed more information from Trump and Wray, the Washington Post notes. The newspaper also reported that a recent interview Trump gave to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, in which he bragged about firing the couple and other officials, may have influenced the judge’s decision.
“If you hadn’t fired Comey, and if you hadn’t fired McCabe and Strzok and Page and all that crap that was there, you would have been, they were trying to stage a coup,” said former president. “The Hugh Hewitt Show” earlier this month.
The FBI and Justice Department have argued that Strzok’s firing was not political.
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