Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe Fired 2 Days Before Retirement

Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe was fired just days before he was scheduled to retire. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced McCabe's termination in a statement issued late Friday night. 

"After an extensive and fair investigation and according to Department of Justice procedure, the Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) provided its report on allegations of misconduct by Andrew McCabe to the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)," Sessions wrote.

Sessions says he made the decision because the OPR recommended McCabe be fired for an alleged lack of candor while under oath several times.

"The FBI’s OPR then reviewed the report and underlying documents and issued a disciplinary proposal recommending the dismissal of Mr. McCabe. Both the OIG and FBI OPR reports concluded that Mr. McCabe 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. As the OPR proposal stated, “all FBI employees know that lacking candor under oath results in dismissal and that our integrity is our brand," the statement read.

"Pursuant to Department Order 1202, and based on the report of the Inspector General, the findings of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility, and the recommendation of the Department’s senior career official, I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately," the Sessions statement said.

McCabe issued a statement after his firing was announced, calling his termination politically motivated. 

"Here is the reality: I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey. The release of this report was accelerated only after my testimony to the House Intelligence Committee revealed that I would corroborate former Director Comey's accounts of his discussions with the President." 

McCabe went even further, laying the blame for his termination directly on President Trump. 

"The OIG's focus on me and this report became a part of an unprecedented effort by the Administration, driven by the President himself, to remove me from my position, destroy my reputation, and possibly strip me of a pension that I worked 21 years to earn." 

McCabe, a lifelong Republican, stepped down from his post in late January and was using vacation time to stay on the FBI's payroll until his retirement on Sunday. The former deputy director had been with the bureau since 1996. 

Photo: Getty Images


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