In a statement oft-repeated by Democrats seeking to weaponize Jan. 6 as a political tool, fired FBI agent Peter Strzok called Sept. 11, 2001 a "tragedy" but "nothing compared to Jan. 6."
"I think that's right and I think if you look at the scale in terms of a threat to democracy. 9/11 was a tragedy," Strzok told MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Monday. "We lost thousands of lives in a horrific way. We still mourn to this day.
"But when you look at something that is an attack on democracy, something that could bring about a fundamental change to American governance, 9/11 is nothing compared to Jan. 6."
Strzok is calling on his former employer, the FBI, to get on "war footing" under President Joe Biden.
"The fact that the FBI and the rest of the government, if they are not on the same sort of war footing that we were on in the weeks and months and years after 9/11, shame on everyone," Strzok added.
Strzok played a key role in both the squashed Hillary Clinton email probe and the allegations of Russian collusion, both rebuked by Republicans as attempts to keep former President Donald Trump from being elected, if not force his ouster once he took office.
Strzok believes in the Jan. 6 narrative to tarnish Trump.
"This is a far greater threat to our constitutional democracy than anything we've faced in the past 20 or more years," he continued to Wallace, who did not challenge him on his explosive remarks. "We need to be addressing it the same way. I suspect if they were, if we were, we might hear more about it, and I think that's the sort of thing that gives a lot of observers, those of us who have been in the FBI, a little bit of concern whether the same urgency and approach to the situation, whether that approach is on par with the nature of the threat we're facing right now."
Trump denounced the partisan "deep state" as a "cancer" that is "purposely destroying our nation."
"It was during the Trump administration that the 'deep state' corruption, and pure hatred of our country, was fully exposed – no longer just a nasty myth, concept, or idea," Trump wrote Tuesday morning on Truth Social. "This is yet another great achievement, but something must now be done to rid us of this cancer that is purposely destroying our nation.
"There is far more danger from within than anything coming from the outside. We must join together and make America great again!!!"
Americans on Twitter also denounced Strzok's comments and past indiscretions.
"Peter Strzok is trending, which is a good time to remember he framed the president of the United States for treason, was caught, was never raided, was never prosecuted, and retired with a full pension," one post read.
"The relationship between Peter Strzok and morality/reality never has been a strong one…," Tricia Flanagan tweeted, with a photo of Strzok from his infamous appearance before Congress.
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