During Rep. Trey Gowdy's questioning of FBI agent Peter Strzok on why Special Counsel Robert Mueller dropped him from his investigation after reports of his anti-Trump text messages surfaced in the media. Strzok insisted he wasn't removed from the investigation due to bias, but simply to avoid the appearance of bias. Strozk said he doesn't "appreciate" that characterization, which prompted Gowdy to hit back: "I don't give a damn what you appreciate." <Blockquote>PETER STRZOK: I think it’s important when you look at those texts that you understand the context in which they were made and the things that were going on across America. In terms of the texts that we will stop it, you need to understand that that was written late at night off the cuff and it was in response to a series of events that included then-candidate Trump insulting the immigrant family of a fallen war hero and my presumption, based on that horrible, disgusting behavior, that the American population would not elect someone demonstrating that behavior to be president of the United States." It was in no way unequivocally any suggestion that me, the FBI, would take any action whatsoever to improperly impact the electoral process for any candidate... So I take great offense and I take great disagreement to your assertion of what that was or wasn’t. As to the 100 million to 1, that was clearly a statement made in jest and using hyperbole. I acknowledge that is absolutely their right. That is what makes our democracy such a vibrant process that it is. But to suggest somehow we can parse down the words of shorthand, text actual conversations like they’re some contract for a car is simply not consistent with my or most people’s use of text messaging. The suggestion that I and some dark chamber in the FBI would somehow cast aside all of these procedures, all of these safety safeguards and somehow be able to do this is astounding to me. It couldn’t happen. The proposition that is going on, it might occur anywhere in the FBI, deeply corrodes what the FBI is in American society, the effectiveness of their mission and it is deeply destructive. </blockquote>