Sen. Lindsey Graham on Thursday questioned the Justice Department's inspector general about an August 2016 meeting in which then-agent Peter Strzok mentioned the Russia probe as "an insurance policy" against Republican Donald Trump's election that November.
Graham, the South Carolina Republican, wanted to know whether then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was in on the meeting, on Aug. 15, 2016, which also included Strzok and another FBI official, Lisa Page.
The senator also wanted to know whether Inspector General Michael Horowitz planned to follow up with Page about the meeting.
"It would be of grave consequence if the deputy director of the FBI met with the lead investigator of the Clinton email and Russia investigations to talk about 'an insurance policy' against Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 election," Graham, the South Carolina Republican, said in a letter to Horowitz.
"That would show bias and inappropriate behavior at the highest levels of the FBI."
In his report, Horowitz cited texts of Strzok and Page as examples of agency bias against Trump in the election.
Here is the Strzok text Horowitz cited on the August 2016 meeting:
"I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's office — that there's no way he gets elected — but I'm afraid we can't take that risk.
"It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you're 40," the text said.
Horowitz said "Andy" references McCabe, who has denied attending the meeting.
In March, Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe over his media disclosures on the FBI's probe of the Clinton Foundation.
"Strzok said the reference in his text message to an 'insurance policy' reflected his conclusion that the FBI should investigate the [Russian collusion] allegations thoroughly right away, as if Trump were going to win," Horowitz said in the report.
Strzok was escorted out of FBI headquarters Friday, pending the completion of a Justice Department investigation into his texts.