“The Justice Department suggested in a filing Wednesday that it had no immediate plans to prosecute former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, saying it would no longer try to keep documents related to Mr. McCabe from being publicly released because of an ongoing enforcement proceeding,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
‘Gang of Eight’ Did Not Object to Trump Probe
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told NBC News that the “Gang of Eight,” the congressional leaders regularly briefed by the executive branch on classified issues, did not object to the counterintelligence investigation into President Trump and his possible ties to Russia.
Said McCabe: “That’s the important part here, no one objected. Not on legal grounds, not on constitutional grounds and not based on fact.”
Rosenstein Didn’t Want to Justify Comey Firing
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “privately complained that he was ordered by president Donald Trump to write the notorious memo justifying the firing of the FBI director James Comey,” The Guardian reports.
Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe “writes in a new book that Rosenstein, who has publicly defended the memo, lamented that the president had directed him to rationalize Comey’s dismissal, which is now the subject of inquiries into whether Trump obstructed justice.”
McCabe Says FBI Is Stalling His Book
“The fired deputy director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, is accusing his former agency of potentially targeting him unfairly by stalling publication of his much-anticipated book, The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump,” ABC News reports.
“Based on FBI policy requiring that the FBI have an opportunity to review agency-related information before it’s released publicly, McCabe submitted a draft of his book to the FBI more than two months ago, and the book was set to be published in early December. But the FBI has yet to reach a conclusion on McCabe’s proposed revelations, so the book’s publication date has now been pushed back to February 2019, according to McCabe.”
Prosecutors Interview Comey In McCabe Case
“Investigators from the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office recently interviewed former FBI director James B. Comey as part of a probe into whether his deputy, Andrew McCabe, broke the law by lying to federal agents — an indication the office is seriously considering whether McCabe should be charged with a crime,” the Washington Post reports.
“Lying to federal investigators can carry a five-year prison sentence, though McCabe disputes that he intentionally misled anyone.”
FBI Official Secret Memo on Comey Firing
Former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe wrote a confidential memo last spring recounting a conversation that offered significant behind-the-scenes details on the firing of James Comey, the New York Times reports.
“In the document, whose contents have not been previously reported, Mr. McCabe described a conversation at the Justice Department with the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, in the chaotic days last May after Mr. Comey’s abrupt firing. Mr. Rosenstein played a key role in the dismissal, writing a memo that rebuked Mr. Comey over his handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton.”
“But in the meeting at the Justice Department, Mr. Rosenstein added a new detail: He said the president had originally asked him to reference Russia in his memo, the people familiar with the conversation said. Mr. Rosenstein did not elaborate on what Mr. Trump had wanted him to say. To Mr. McCabe, that seemed like possible evidence that Mr. Comey’s firing was actually related to the F.B.I.’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, and that Mr. Rosenstein helped provide a cover story by writing about the Clinton investigation.”
McCabe Referred for Possible Criminal Charges
“The Justice Department inspector general referred its finding that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe repeatedly misled investigators who were examining a media disclosure to the top federal prosecutor in D.C. to determine whether McCabe should be charged with a crime,” the Washington Post reports.
However, a referral to federal prosecutors “does not necessarily mean McCabe will be charged with a crime.”
Former Deputy FBI Director Faulted In Scathing Report
“The Justice Department inspector general delivered to Congress on Friday a highly critical report that accused Andrew G. McCabe, the former F.B.I. deputy director, of repeatedly misleading investigators,” the New York Times reports.
“The inspector general said that when investigators asked whether he had instructed aides to provide information in October 2016 to a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. McCabe said he did not authorize the disclosure and did not know who did.”
“But Mr. McCabe did approve the F.B.I.’s contact with the reporter, according to the review.”
McCabe Authorized Criminal Probe of Sessions
Nearly a year before Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired senior FBI official Andrew McCabe for what Sessions called a “lack of candor,” McCabe oversaw a federal criminal investigation into whether Sessions lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives, ABC News reports.
“Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly accused Sessions of misleading them in congressional testimony and called on federal authorities to investigate, but McCabe’s previously-unreported decision to actually put the attorney general in the crosshairs of an FBI probe was an exceptional move.”
McCabe Fired Just Before He Was to Retire
“Andrew McCabe, the former F.B.I. deputy director and a frequent target of President Trump’s scorn, was fired Friday after the Justice Department rejected an appeal that would have let him retire this weekend,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. McCabe promptly declared that his firing, and Mr. Trump’s persistent needling, were intended to undermine the special counsel’s investigation in which he is a potential witness.”
Said McCabe: “The idea that I was dishonest is just wrong. This is part of an effort to discredit me as a witness.”
Washington Post: “The move will likely cost McCabe a significant portion of his retirement benefits, though it is possible he could bring a legal challenge. McCabe has been fighting vigorously to keep his job, and on Thursday, he spent nearly four hours inside the Justice Department pleading his case.”
FBI Director Says McCabe’s Ouster Tied to IG Report
“FBI Director Chris Wray made clear in a message sent to all bureau employees on Monday night that Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s decision to step aside was a result of forthcoming information to be detailed in an Inspector General report,” NBC News reports.
“Wray alluded to having seen aspects of the IG’s report into the way the FBI handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server.”
Quote of the Day
“Special Agent Andrew McCabe stood tall over the last 8 months, when small people were trying to tear down an institution we all depend on. He served with distinction for two decades. I wish Andy well. I also wish continued strength for the rest of the FBI. America needs you.”
— Former FBI Director James Comey, on Twitter, reacting to the ouster of Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
