Ex-FBI Lawyer Lisa Page Subpoenaed By House Judiciary Committee

WASHINGTON, DC — The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former FBI lawyer Lisa Page to appear for a private interview on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the subpoena. Page exchanged text messages critical of Donald Trump with FBI agent Peter Strzok, who will testify publicly before the panel on Thursday. Page and Strzok both worked on the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails and later special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the subpoena isn't public.

It is unclear if Page will appear. Her lawyer, Amy Jeffress, said in a statement that they are "still waiting to work out a reasonable date" for the interview. Jeffress said they are also still waiting on documents from the FBI to prepare.

"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.

House Republicans have suggested the FBI was conspiring against Trump during and after his presidential campaign, and the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees are investigating the agency's actions. The committees have focused much of their ire on Strzok, who was interviewed privately by lawmakers on the two committees for 11 hours last month. He will return to Capitol Hill for the hearing on Thursday, the first time he will speak publicly about the messages.

Strzok had a leading role in the Clinton probe and was removed from the Mueller investigation after the texts were discovered a year ago. Page had already left the Mueller team.

A report by the Justice Department's internal watchdog released last month detailed the texts between the two, including an exchange in which Strzok said, "we'll stop it," in reference to a potential Trump election win.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

Photo credit: WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 28: Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) speaks during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee June 28, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. While scheduled to discuss the Justice Department Inspector general report released this month on the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Republicans were expected to use the opportunity to press for release of documents subpoenaed by the committee that detail FBI actions in 2016. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)