Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein authorized the Justice Department (DOJ) to release text messages between former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, according to a sworn statement by Rosenstein in a Jan. 17 court filing. Rosenstein made the revelation in a declaration filed with the government’s latest arguments (pdf) in a lawsuit brought by Strzok. The former FBI deputy assistant director is suing the DOJ, claiming he was wrongfully fired and had his Privacy Act rights violated by the release of the texts. Page has filed a separate lawsuit against the DOJ that alleges Privacy Act violations. The Privacy Act protects information that the government holds on private individuals. The release of the text messages in December 2017 sparked a political firestorm over the origins of the Russia investigation. Using their FBI phones, Strzok and Page, who were having an extramarital affair, aired their disdain for then-candidate Donald Trump, spoke of stopping him from being elected, discussed an “an insurance policy” in the “unlikely event” he won, and mulled “impeachment” around the time they joined special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Rosenstein said that he chose to release the text messages after learning that the DOJ Office of Inspector General had cleared the messages to be disclosed to Congress. Facing questioning by lawmakers on Dec. 13, 2017, he decided to disclose the messages to the media to prevent the intermittent release of the messages before, during, and after the hearing, fearing the reporting would damage “the public confidence in the FBI” and exacerbate the bad publicity for the DOJ, Page, and Strzok. “The disclosure obviously would adversely affect public confidence in the FBI, but providing the most egregious messages in one package would avoid the additional harm of prolonged selective disclosures and minimize the appearance of the Department concealing information that was embarrassing to the FBI,” Rosenstein wrote. Rosenstein’s declaration addresses Privacy Act concerns raised in both lawsuits. Prior to releasing the messages, Rosenstein consulted with the department’s chief privacy and civil liberties officer, who informed him that the release of the messages would be legal because Page and Strzok sent the messages using their FBI phones, fully aware that the content is subject to review by the bureau. Rosenstein’s declaration is likely to make it more difficult for Page and Strzok to substantiate their Privacy Act claims, which require a government official to knowingly disclose information on a private citizen in violation of the law. In response to the news of Rosenstein’s involvement, Page wrote on Twitter, “All I can say is this: I very much look forwa ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPT7V7ZuWTA

The Chinese Communist Party is subverting #HigherEducation in the United States and abroad, and among its main tools in this effort are the #ConfuciusInstitutes. In this episode of Declassified we speak with Goran Lindblad, president of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience, about this growing threat. ***Follow us on Social Media! Please subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Declassified Declassified Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/declassified.et Declassified Twitter: https://twitter.com/declassified_ET ***Story Info! Original story title: Pro-Communist Confucius Institutes a 'Spy Center' and 'Dangerous' Says Expert. Credits: Produced by Gina Shakespeare and Louise Stevanovic ***About Us! Welcome to Declassified, thank you for joining us. Declassified is a new channel from The Epoch Times focused on unseen wars, unconventional weapons, political analysis, and related topics. Join hosts Joshua Philipp and Gina Shakespeare as they speak with some of the leading experts in the field about security issues that are often little known, but that affect all of us. Topics Declassified will cover: subversion, psychological warfare, space warfare, crime, espionage, terrorism, ideology, unconventional weapons, military, law enforcement, patriotism and traditional values. Mission: Chasing the truth, grounding all statements in facts, preventing people from being misinformed and misled — The Epoch Times is a return to traditional and authentic journalism. ***Contact! Please email: declassified@epochtimes.nyc ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z6tKc1CGCk

Heather Samuelson, Hillary Clinton’s personal attorney, gave the FBI and Judicial Watch conflicting explanations of when she learned that the former secretary of state used a private email system to conduct official U.S. diplomatic business. Written by Mark Tapscott @mtapscott Hosted by Gina Shakespeare Edited by Fabian Li Click here to Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/Declassified?sub_confirmation=1 The best newspaper: https://www.theepochtimes.com/ © All Rights Reserved. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WfKymKSpUg

Gina and China Uncensored host Chris Chappell to count down the worst cases of Chinese subversion in America. Check out China Uncensored! https://www.youtube.com/ChinaUncensored Make sure to share with your friends! ***Follow us on Social Media! Please subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Declassified Declassified Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/declassified.et Declassified Twitter: https://twitter.com/declassified_ET Gina's Personal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GinaMarieShakespeareDeclassified Credits: Written by Matt Gnaizda, Chris Chappell, hosted by Gina Shakespeare and Chris Chappell. ***About Us! Welcome to Declassified, thank you for joining us. Declassified is a new channel from The Epoch Times focused on unseen wars, unconventional weapons, political analysis, and related topics. Join hosts Joshua Philipp and Gina Shakespeare as they speak with some of the leading experts in the field about security issues that are often little known, but that affect all of us. Topics Declassified will cover: subversion, psychological warfare, space warfare, crime, espionage, terrorism, ideology, unconventional weapons, military, law enforcement, patriotism and traditional values. Mission: Chasing the truth, grounding all statements in facts, preventing people from being misinformed and misled — The Epoch Times is a return to traditional and authentic journalism. ***Contact! Please email: declassified@epochtimes.nyc ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjYWeAt89l0