WASHINGTON — President Trump and fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe have unleashed a war of words over McCabe’s abrupt dismissal, with the president calling it a “great day” and the FBI official saying he would no longer remain silent after a “relenting assault” by Trump and other critics on his reputation and service.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced late Friday that he fired McCabe effective immediately — barely 48 hours before his retirement benefits would have set in after 21 years of service with the FBI.
McCabe, who had announced his intention to resign in January, was fired from the agency in the midst of a review into the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as secretary of State.
Sessions, in a statement, said McCabe’s firing was the result of an “extensive and fair” probe of alleged misconduct, which concluded that he had made “an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor − including under oath − on multiple occasions.”
“The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and accountability,” Sessions said.
McCabe, who rose through the counterterrorism and national security ranks, also served as the agency’s acting director this summer after Trump fired former director James Comey in May.
Trump, who has publicly castigated McCabe since he announced his retirement plans, applauded Sessions’ decision early Saturday, calling it “a great day for democracy” and “a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI.”
More: FBI documents: Andrew McCabe had no conflict in Hillary Clinton email probe
“Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!,” the president tweeted.
McCabe shot back at his critics with a lengthy statement, saying he had held the post of deputy director during a “particularly tough time.”
“Articles too numerous to count have leveled every sort of false, defamatory and degrading allegation against us,” he said.”The President’s tweets have amplified and exacerbated it all. He called for my firing. He called for me to be stripped of my pension after more than 20 years of service.”
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Amid such criticism, McCabe said, he had remained silent “never wanting to distract from the mission of the FBI by addressing the lies told and repeated about us.”
But, he added, “No more.”
McCabe called the attacks on his credibility “one part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally, but to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals more generally. “
“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,” he said in the statement. “Their persistence in this campaign only highlights the importance of the Special Counsel’s work.”
Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 elections and whether there was any collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Details of the investigation into McCabe’s conduct have yet to be released, but are reportedly centered on communications with journalists about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. The report is due out any day and is expected to sharply criticize the bureau and McCabe.
McCabe’s accumulated leave time would have allowed him to qualify for retirement this month with full benefits.
The president’s fixation on McCabe’s personal political leanings were apparent soon after he was named acting FBI director when Trump pointedly asked McCabe in his initial interview at the White House who he voted for in the 2016 election. McCabe, according to an official with knowledge of the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly, told Trump that he did not vote.
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While many are taking part in March Madness office pools, over in the White House, staffers are reportedly filling out brackets of their own, betting on who will be fired next.
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Trump’s repeated public references to McCabe, in tweets and public statements subsequently, has helped feed suspicion among an ultra-conservative wing of House Republicans that the FBI was biased against the Trump administration.
Yet Trump’s unusual questions about McCabe’s political leanings and personal attacks also form another potential data point in the ongoing investigation into whether the president tried to obstruct justice in the federal probe into Russia’s election interference and possible collusion with Trump associates.
One official said Monday that McCabe — like his predecessor Comey — likely documented his encounters with Trump and may have maintained similarly detailed notes.
In memos that Comey has since turned over to federal prosecutors, the former director alleged that Trump last year urged him to drop the FBI’s investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and requested a pledge of loyalty. The memos are now part of Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump sought to obstruct justice.
In response to accusations that McCabe exerted undue or partisan influence over the probe, the FBI has maintained McCabe had no personal conflicts, as he did not oversee that inquiry while his wife Jill McCabe was running for state office in Virginia as a Democrat.
In comments to The New York Times, McCabe said he was being singled out “because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey.”
McCabe told the Times that his firing was intended to undermine the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
“The idea that I was dishonest is just wrong,” he told the Times. “This is part of an effort to discredit me as a witness.”
FBI Agents Association President Thomas O’Connor said the group “does not comment on personnel matters,” but is committed to ensuring that members are adequately protected.
“The FBIAA also strongly believes that personnel decisions should never be politicized,” said O’Connor who did not directly reference Sessions’ decision.
McCabe’s January announcement had been welcomed at the White House where Trump had said McCabe is “racing the clock to retire with full benefits.” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has said the president was not involved in McCabe’s departure.
“The only thing the President has been applying pressure to was to make sure we get this (Russia investigation) resolved so that you guys (the media) and everyone else can focus on the things that Americans actually care about,” Sanders said then.
Sessions’ announcement comes as his own tenure has been called into question by the president, who has criticized the attorney general for recusing himself from overseeing the inquiry into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and for not removing McCabe after taking office as attorney general.
Even before McCabe’s January announcement that he was stepping down, Trump had trolled the former deputy FBI director on Twitter urging the Justice Department to take action against McCabe.
As recently as this week, Sanders referred to McCabe as a “bad actor” whose fate was in the hands of the attorney general.