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In connection with Peter Strzok and Lisa Page’s civil lawsuits against the DOJ and FBI, former Trump chief of staff John Kelly provided a sworn statement that Trump sought to have the IRS investigate both. But we don’t have to take NYT’s word for it. 1/ nytimes.com/2023/07/07/us/…
Kelly’s declaration — which states Trump asked him and others whether Strzok and Page could be disciplined — was part of a filing earlier this week in which DOJ again sought to block Trump’s deposition—and lost. 2/ 
Although the court didn’t cite Kelly’s statement in denying DOJ’s motion, his words suggest why — despite FBI Director Chris Wray offering no indicia of Trump’s role in his own deposition — the court stayed the course: Trump didn’t explore hurting Strzok & Page with FBI brass. 3/
Instead, Trump talked about revoking their security clearances & having the IRS or other federal agencies investigate Strzok and Page within the WH, where Kelly’s contemporaneous notes indicate at least two such conversations despite Trump generally disapproving of notetaking. 4/
And as proof of Trump’s attempts at retaliation, Kelly attached both sets of notes — which his declaration translates helpfully — to the statement. Here they are for your perusal. 5/
The last thing I’ll add is that Kelly’s involvement here is relatively recent. His declaration is dated May 12, 2023; it doesn’t look as if he left the WH & immediately got on board with Strzok & Page. But that he held onto his notes? Telling—and exactly what Trump feared. FIN.
p.s. Want to read it yourself? Kelly’s declaration is Exhibit C within this filing: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
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