During Peter Strzok’s closed-door hearing with lawmakers Wednesday, he defended his text messages as “intimate” conversations that he never acted on. | Alex Wong/Getty Images FBI's Strzok asked to defend anti-Trump texts at public hearing Peter Strzok has become a fixation of President Donald Trump as he assails the ongoing Russia investigation.

Peter Strzok, the FBI counterintelligence agent whose anti-Trump text messages have become a fixation of President Donald Trump as he assails the ongoing Russia investigation, will be asked to testify publicly before Congress on July 10, according to a source familiar with lawmakers’ plans.

Strzok, who testified in a closed-door session Wednesday for more than nine hours, was a central figure in the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, as well as the FBI’s probe of Russian contacts with Trump campaign associates, which Strzok helped launch in July 2016.


The House Judiciary and Oversight Committees’ open hearing would give Strzok the first opportunity to tell the public his side of the story. His lawyer indicated earlier this week that Strzok would welcome that chance. Trump has also called on Strzok to testify publicly.

In addition to his roles in the Clinton and Russia investigations, Strzok was an early member of special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, which took over the Trump-Russia investigation. The discovery of his anti-Trump text exchanges with FBI attorney Lisa Page has prompted Trump and congressional Republicans to question whether bias inside the FBI fueled the Russia investigation.

Page, who has yet to appear before Congress, has been asked to attend a July 12 hearing of the two committees, according to the source. It’s unclear whether her hearing will be public or behind closed doors.

During Strzok’s closed-door hearing with lawmakers Wednesday, Strzok defended his text messages as “intimate” conversations with Page that he never acted on, including an exchange in which he told Page that Trump wouldn’t become president because “we'll stop it.”