Politics
08:16, 18-Mar-2018
Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe calls his dismissal 'war on the FBI'
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Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI, says his firing is part of an ongoing "war" on the investigative agency.
McCabe, who was criticized by President Trump for his supposed bias against the White House, was let go on Friday night, by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates alleged misconduct by employees, recommended McCabe's firing.
The office said McCabe mishandled an investigation into Hillary Clinton's misuse of classified information on a private email server, Trump's rival in the 2016 presidential election, and contact with a journalist.
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe arrives for a meeting with members of the Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary committees in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, Dec. 20, 2017. /VCG Photo
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe arrives for a meeting with members of the Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary committees in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, Dec. 20, 2017. /VCG Photo
The White House had become more vocal in its criticism of McCabe when he appeared to support claims by other FBI agents of pressure by the Trump administration to steer the investigation in alleged meddling by Russia in the 2016 election.
One day before the firing, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called McCabe "a bad actor."
"We do think that it is well documented that he has had some very troubling behavior, and by most accounts, a bad actor," Sanders said during a press briefing.
McCabe was a 20-year veteran and was just days away from receiving full retirement benefits when he was fired.
In a statement, McCabe said he was fired because of Washington's politicized environment. He wrote: "It is part of this Administration's ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the Special Counsel investigation, which continue to this day."
Reacting in a tweet President Trump described it as a "great day for democracy."
He added that McCabe "knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI" without giving any evidence.
Former CIA director John Brennan blasted Trump, tweeting: "When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history."
The President's personal lawyer John Dowd argued that with McCabe's firing the special counsel's investigation should be brought to an end. But that would be up to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. He's been overseeing the Russia investigation since Attorney General Sessions recused himself from the probe last year. So far, there's been no comment from Rosenstein.
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