A source briefed on the interview said Republicans grilled Peter Strzok about why he lost his security clearance and about why he was dismissed from special counsel Robert Mueller's team. | Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images 'Intimate' chats: FBI's anti-Trump texter makes case to Congress But after 10 hours of questioning, Republicans remained concerned that Peter Strzok had undermined FBI probes into Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Peter Strzok, the FBI agent whose anti-Trump texts have spawned months of conspiracy theories about deep state plots to take down the president, sparred with lawmakers Wednesday during a "feisty" daylong interview in his first Capitol Hill appearance.

Over nearly 10 hours, Strzok defended his texts as "intimate" conversations with an "intimate friend," according to those in the room. But after multiple rounds of questioning,no one appeared to have budged. Republicans left the room raging, while Democrats left wondering what all the fuss was about.


"Mad and angry," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), describing his emotions leaving the meeting.

"Monumental waste of time," countered Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Strzok, a veteran counterintelligence agent who helped launched the FBI’s Russia probe in 2016, has become the bogeyman of the Trump universe, portrayed as the original witch hunter in the illegitimate investigation into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian officials.

Trump regularly rants on Twitter about Strzok — labeling him a "hating fraud" on Monday — and Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani has demanded that Strzok be jailed for his actions. On Capitol Hill, Trump's allies have insisted that Strzok — who was also central in the FBI's probe