WASHINGTON, D.C., March 17, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was fired Friday, two days before he was to retire after 22 years of service.
NBC News reported Friday night that Attorney General Jeff Sessions accepted a recommendation to terminate McCabe’s employment with the Bureau two days before he would retire on Sunday and become eligible for a full pension. Sunday is also McCabe’s 50th birthday.
McCabe replaced FBI Director James Comey after Comey was fired by President Donald Trump on May 9, 2017.
McCabe stepped down from the deputy director position in January and had been on leave from the FBI.
Time Inc. and other news sources pointed out that McCabe frequently has been criticized by Trump for his part in the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
McCabe was also criticized within the FBI over the Clinton investigation.
Time reported that the inspector general’s office, which investigated the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email investigation, “concluded that McCabe authorized FBI officials to speak with a journalist for an October 2016 story in The Wall Street Journal.”
Conflicting stories were put forth by the FBI, the president, and the inspector general’s office regarding the “media leak” and McCabe’s attitude toward the Trump administration.
In response to the firing of McCabe, the president tweeted:
To see McCabe’s response to his firing, click here.
