Washington (CNN) The FBI had "the power, but not the right" to fire now-former agent Peter Strzok for his anti-President Donald Trump texts, his attorney Aitan Goelman said Monday.

Speaking to Chris Cuomo on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time," Goelman said that Strzok's firing was contrary to what the FBI had told them would happen.

"We had an agreement with the FBI's Office for Professional Responsibility (OPR), which is the main caretaker for internal discipline, that (Strzok) would get a 60-day suspension and a demotion," Goelman described. "At the last minute, that was countermanded by (FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich) and he was fired -- so yeah, we were surprised."

Countermanding such decisions "doesn't happen very often," Goelman continued, but "in this case, it is hard to reach any conclusion other than that the decision to reverse the OPR's decision was motivated at least largely by politics."

Goelman added, "We think that they had the power, but not the right to do it. ... There is a normal process that is followed for disciplining civil servants and fed employees. That process was followed here, but in form only and not in substance, and that's what our big objection is."

Read More