Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on May 11. President Donald Trump fired the FBI director, James Comey, on May 9. Eric Thayer/REUTERS
Jonathan Turley, The Hill: McCabe just made life tough for Comey and the special counsel
Following his termination late Friday night, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe declared that he was “singled out” after “unrelenting” attacks by President Trump and critics. McCabe’s objections are less than credible, given the virtually unprecedented recommendation of career officials to fire the one-time acting FBI director.
However, McCabe may have rectified his “singled out” status with his long statement criticizing his termination: In the middle of it is a line that could be viewed as incriminating fired FBI director James Comey, not just in leaking sensitive information but also in lying to Congress.
McCabe is accused of misleading investigators about allegedly giving information to a former Wall Street Journal reporter about the investigation of Hillary Clinton and the Clinton family’s charitable foundation. McCabe asserts in his post-firing statement that he not only had authority to “share” that information to the media but did so with the knowledge of “the director.” The FBI director at the time was Comey.
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WNU Editor: FBI Deputy Director McCabe's statement on his firing can be read here, and the key part of his statement is the following ....
.... The OIG investigation has focused on information I chose to share with a reporter through my public affairs officer and a legal counselor. As Deputy Director, I was one of only a few people who had the authority to do that. It was not a secret, it took place over several days, and others, including the Director, were aware of the interaction with the reporter. It was the same type of exchange with the media that the Deputy Director oversees several times per week.
The Inspector General found the interactions with these reporters improper, and former FBI Director McCabe's answers to what was discussed with these reporters .... inadequate enough to call for his firing. But in his own statement FBI Deputy Director McCabe is admitting that what he did was known by FBI Director Comey .... and done with his permission. So why should Andrew McCabe be specifically targeted while everyone else gets a pass by the Inspector General. I know if I was Andrew McCabe .... I would be beyond livid.
On a side note .... just some information that I find interesting. The Justice Department's Inspector General Horowitz was appointed by President Obama and approved by the then Democrat controlled Senate. The head of the FBI Disciplinary Office was appointed by Robert Mueller when he was FBI Director. And the political party that demanded this investigation in the first place were the Democrats themselves.
