WASHINGTON - Peter Strzok, the FBI agent who exchanged anti-Trump text messages with his co-worker girlfriend, was fired, his lawyer said Monday.

Strzok is the third high-profile FBI official to be fired from the bureau since President Donald Trump took office. Last year, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. This year, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions days before he was set to retire and his benefits would have set in.

Strzok, who worked for the bureau for 22 years, helped lead the investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, USA Today reported.

Last summer, Strzok was removed from the Russia inquiry by special counsel Robert Mueller when Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz discovered texts between Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page disparaging presidential candidate Trump in 2016.

Trump has often pointed to Strzok and Page's text messages to attack the special counsel's Russia inquiry, which he contends is a "witch hunt" biased against him.

Story Date: August 14, 2018