PETER STRZOK

The Justice Department is asking a judge to put on hold a scheduled deposition of Donald Trump in a lawsuit brought by an FBI agent who was fired over text messages critical of the former president.

BOSTON – Russian interference has been minimal so far in the most tempestuous U.S. presidential election in decades. It’s uncertain whether they are affiliated with the Kremlin or if the attacks are timed to coincide with the election. That’s in contrast to the 2016 Russian hack-and-leak operation that U.S. officials say was aimed at boosting Donald Trump’s campaign. Election security officials say they worry more about misinformation mongers eroding confidence in the election than about the potential for vote-tampering. Alexander Heid, chief research officer for SecurityScorecard, said his firm found 30,000 Trickbot infections on 12 state networks in September and early October.

WASHINGTON – Former FBI Director James Comey will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, appearing just a month before the presidential election as Republicans have tried to make the case that he and his agency conspired against Donald Trump in 2016. Comey, whom Trump fired in May 2017, will be a featured witness in Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham’s investigation into the origins of the Justice Department’s Russia probe. His report also examined several instances in which Trump tried to obstruct his investigation but said he could not come to a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Republicans, and Trump himself, have repeatedly said they believe the department was conspiring against the president before and after the election. Graham, a close ally of Trump, said Thursday that “the day of reckoning is upon us” when it comes to the beginning of the Russia probe.

Strzok, a former FBI agent who was fired because of derogatory text messages about Donald Trump, writes in a new book that he believes the president has been compromised by Russia. Strzok, for his part, expresses measured regret for the texts in Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump, due out Tuesday. Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation revealed significant contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia but found insufficient evidence of a criminal conspiracy. By his own count, Strzok says, Trump has attacked him since then more than 100 times in tweets. After Trump accused Strzok of treason, he appealed to the FBI for a statement condemning the remarks, but got none.

WASHINGTON - FBI Director Chris Wray will appear before the Senate Judiciary on oversight of the FBI on Tuesday morning. Wray is set to testify Tuesday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by one of President Donald Trumps closest allies, Sen. Lindsey Graham. The South Carolina Republican has vowed to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation. Republicans are likely to spend time questioning Wray and Mueller about Peter Strzok, an FBI agent who helped lead the Trump investigation and exchanged anti-Trump text messages during the 2016 election with an FBI lawyer, Lisa Page. Part of Durhams mandate is to investigate whether there was a proper basis for the FBI to open a counterintelligence investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.