Trump's Tweets Feel Like 'Being Punched In The Gut,' Says Former FBI Lawyer Lisa Page

Nearly two years ago, the Justice Department released a series of text messages sent between Federal Bureau of Investigation lawyer Lisa Page and former agent Peter Strzok in which the pair appeared to disparage the then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump used the publicized exchanges to further his claims that the FBI had an agenda to undermine his campaign, culminating in numerous tweets and public statements from Trump accusing both agents of conspiring against him and committing serious crimes.

Both participated in Robert Mueller's special council investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign but were dismissed after the messages were released.

For the first time since the messages came under the public glare, Page has spoken out against Trump and what she views as a campaign of harassment and intimidation. She previously gave a closed-door interview to members of the House.

Speaking to The Daily Beast, Page said the “straw that broke the camel’s back” came when the president, during a rally in Minneapolis, mocked the alleged affair between Page and Strzok by saying the pair having an orgasm while discussing Trump.

Page said it feels like “being punched in the gut” and “my heart drops to my stomach” every time Trump tweets about her or mentions her in public. “It’s sickening,” she said. Page is confident she has committed no crime but the tweets from the President were “very intimidating,” because Trump is “still someone in a position to actually do something about it.”

In other tweets and statements, Trump said the released messages support his repeated claims that the Justice Department under the Obama Administration was “broken and corrupt,” as well as accusing both Page and Strzok of treason.

A report from the Justice Department’s inspector general is set for release On Dec. 9 and expected to clear Page of any criminal wrongdoing. She worries, however, that this won’t necessarily clear her name in the eyes of Trump and many of his followers. “The president has a very big megaphone,” Page said.

Page described how the last two years of her life have changed. “Now otherwise normal interactions take on a different meaning,” she said. “If I’m walking down the street or shopping and there’s somebody wearing Trump gear or a MAGA hat, I’ll walk the other way or try to put some distance between us because I’m not looking for conflict.”

As a lawyer, Page said she has no doubt that her conversations with Strzok, made in private, were entirely legal under the Hatch Act, which prohibits public servants like herself from engaging in public partisan activity.

“I know I’m a federal employee, but I retain my First Amendment rights. So I’m really not all that worried about it,” Page said.