(CNN) Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe late Friday, less than two days shy of his retirement, ending the career of an official who had risen to serve as second-in-command at the bureau.
McCabe had more recently been regularly taunted by President Donald Trump and besieged by accusations that he had misled internal investigators at the Justice Department.
In a blistering statement Friday night, McCabe said his firing is part of a larger effort to discredit the FBI and the special counsel's investigation.
"This attack on my credibility is one part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally, but to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals more generally," McCabe said. "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. Their persistence in this campaign only highlights the importance of the Special Counsel's work."
Shortly after midnight, Trump tweeted.
"Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy," Trump said. "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!"
Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy. 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! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018
McCabe had been expected to retire this Sunday, on his 50th birthday, when he would have become eligible to receive early retirement benefits.
But Friday's termination could place a portion of his anticipated pension, earned after more than two decades of service, in significant jeopardy
The origin of his dramatic fall stems from an internal review conducted by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. That report -- the details of which have not been publicly released -- is said to conclude that McCabe misled investigators about his role in directing other officials at the FBI to speak to The Wall Street Journal about his involvement in a public corruption investigation into the Clinton Foundation, according to a source briefed on it.
CNN reported on Wednesday that the findings in Horowitz's report on McCabe were referred to the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility, staffed with career officials, who recommended McCabe's termination. McCabe, accompanied by his lawyer, tried making a last-ditch effort Thursday to avoid the firing, meeting with officials at the deputy attorney general's office at the Justice Department for several hours while Sessions was traveling, but to no avail.
"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 said in a statement late Friday. "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."
Horowitz's office is continuing to investigate how the Justice Department and FBI handled sensitive investigations leading up to the 2016 presidential election -- including the probe into Hillary Clinton's private email server -- and a more global report is expected this spring. That closely watched report, which Trump has derided as " already late ," could prove devastating for former and current top officials at the Justice Department and FBI depending on the findings, as the President has sought to weave a narrative of biased "deep state" holdovers from the Obama administration determined to undermine his presidency.
McCabe alleged that the report's release was sped up "only after" his testimony suggested that he would corroborate Comey's accounts of his conversations with Trump.
"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," McCabe said in a statement. "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. The accelerated release of the report, and the punitive actions taken in response, make sense only when viewed through this lens."
A representative for McCabe said he learned from a press release that he had been fired by Sessions. A Justice Department spokesperson pushed back, saying, "Mr. McCabe and his attorney were informed in advance of any news media."
McCabe's representative said he received an email on his FBI account shortly before the Justice Department notified the media, but he was not regularly checking that account, since he was on leave from duties at the bureau.
While former FBI officials say a lack of candor is a death knell for an agent's career, Sessions' decision to fire McCabe presented unique political complications.
Trump often used McCabe as a political punching bag on the campaign trail given his wife's purported past ties to Clinton -- going so far as heckling Sessions over the summer for failing to fire McCabe -- despite the fact that Trump had interviewed McCabe just weeks prior about serving as FBI director after he ousted James Comey. In December, Trump made a cryptic reference to McCabe's approaching retirement, tweeting: "FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!!"
The full implications of McCabe's firing on his pension remain to be seen, but he could potentially stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. Retirement benefits for federal employees are based on several variables in employment history, but McCabe's salary is not public and the FBI declined to release it to CNN.
Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director and a frequent target of Donald Trump, has been fired less than two days before he was due to retire. The president said his dismissal was “a great day for democracy”.
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirmed McCabe’s dismissal in a statement late on Friday, bringing to a close two decades of service at the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
In a statement, Sessions said he was terminating McCabe’s employment immediately upon a recommendation from the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
Sessions said the review found McCabe allegedly “made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor” during a review of the FBI and justice department’s handling of an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
“The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and accountability,” Sessions said. “As the OPR proposal stated, ‘all FBI employees know that lacking candor under oath results in dismissal and that our integrity is our brand’.”
Quick guide What are the dangers for Trump from the Russia investigations? Show Hide The 2020 election The most likely price Trump would pay, if he were perceived guilty of wrongdoing, would be a 2020 re-election loss. He can't afford to lose many supporters and expect to remain in office. Any disillusionment stemming from the Russian affair could make the difference. His average approval rating has hung in the mid-to-upper 30s. Every president to win re-election since the second world war did so with an approval rating in the 49%-50% range or better. Congress As long as Republicans are in charge, Trump is not likely to face impeachment proceedings or to be removed from office. A two-thirds majority in the Senate is required to remove a president from office through impeachment. Public opinion If public opinion swings precipitously against the president, however, his grip on power could slip. At some point, Republicans in Congress may, if their constituents will it, turn on Trump. Criminal charges Apart from impeachment, Trump could, perhaps, face criminal charges, which would (theoretically) play out in the court system as opposed to Congress. But it’s a matter of debate among scholars and prosecutors whether Trump, as a sitting president, may be prosecuted in this way. Other Robert Mueller is believed to have Trump’s tax returns, and to be looking at the Trump Organization as well as Jared Kushner’s real estate company. It’s possible that wrongdoing unrelated to the election could be uncovered and make trouble for Trump. The president, and Kushner, deny wrongdoing.
McCabe swiftly pushed back, telling CNN his downfall was the result of “a series of attacks designed to undermine my credibility and my reputation”.
Trump celebrated the dismissal on Twitter, writing: “Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI – A great day for Democracy.”
Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) McCabe statement: pic.twitter.com/32vsbf6XWZ
McCabe, who stepped down in January and planned to retire on Sunday, his 50th birthday, when he would qualify for early retirement benefits, suggested his dismissal was part of an effort to undermine the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the US election and potential collusion between Trump aides and Moscow.
McCabe would potentially be a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry. As the former deputy director of the FBI, he is expected to be in a position to offer details of Trump’s decision to fire the bureau’s former director, James Comey, last year.
In a statement on Friday, McCabe said the administration’s “persistence in this campaign [against Mueller] only highlights the importance of the special counsel’s work”.
McCabe said he had been fired because of the “role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey”.
In an interview with Politico, conducted before his firing and published on Friday, McCabe accused the White House of creating a “counter-narrative” to undermine his credibility should he be called to testify before the special counsel.
“They have every reason to believe that I could end up being a significant witness in whatever the special counsel comes up with, and so they are trying to create this counter-narrative that I am not someone who can be believed or trusted,” McCabe told the website.
“And as someone who has been believed and trusted by really good people for 21 years, it’s just infuriating to me.”
He said he made a concerted effort to bolster the investigation in the six weeks between Sessions’ recusal from the inquiry – over his non-disclosure of contacts with Russians during the Trump campaign – and Mueller’s appointment, in the understanding that his days at the agency were numbered.
“I literally walked into the building every day expecting that I would be removed from my position before the end of the day,” he said. “And if that happened, I didn’t want anyone to be able to just walk away from the work that we had done”.
In his tweet, Trump wrote: “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!”
Comey is due to re-enter public life with the publication of a book, entitled A Higher Loyalty, in mid-April.
McCabe has repeatedly been the subject of Trump’s ire, both privately and publicly. The president on multiple occasions implied that the deputy director, a longtime Republican, was biased, citing his wife Jill’s bid for a state Senate seat in Virginia.
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McCabe’s wife received campaign donations from a political action committee run by the former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, a longtime ally of the Clintons. Trump has erroneously stated that Jill McCabe’s campaign was funded by Hillary Clinton.
Due to his abrupt dismissal, McCabe is expected to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in pension.
Trump hinted his days were numbered in December, tweeting: “FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!!”
A justice department spokesman told the Guardian McCabe had been notified of his dismissal before the press, but declined to state if Sessions had discussed the matter with the president.
Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Mr McCabe has spent most of his career working at the FBI
Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe has been sacked days before he could retire with pension rights.
He was fired by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who said an internal review found he leaked information and misled investigators.
Mr McCabe denied the claims and said he was being targeted because of his involvement in the inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
US media say he has kept notes of his interactions with the president.
If so, they may become part of the inquiry.
Mr Trump has long accused Mr McCabe of bias in favour of the Democrats.
He immediately praised Mr Sessions' decision to fire him.
Skip Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy. 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! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018 Report
In December, the president appeared to taunt the then number two at the FBI, when he tweeted: "FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!!"
Why was McCabe fired?
Mr McCabe had been under an internal investigation into the FBI's handling of two key inquiries during the 2016 presidential campaign - the revelations that Hillary Clinton had used a private email server while secretary of state and suspicions that Russia was interfering to help Mr Trump win the presidency.
He stepped down from his role as deputy director in January because of the review, and had remained on the FBI's books ahead of his expected retirement.
His sacking came late on Friday night. Mr Sessions, who heads the justice department, said it was the result of "an extensive and fair investigation" by his department and the FBI.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Sessions has been under pressure to decide Mr McCabe's fate ahead of his retirement
Mr Sessions said the report had concluded that Mr McCabe had "made an unauthorised disclosure to the news media and lacked candour - including under oath - on multiple occasions".
The report has not been released but it is thought to refer to an interview Mr McCabe authorised between two FBI officials and a Wall Street Journal reporter in October 2016 to explain the agency's position in the Clinton emails inquiry.
He was then subsequently interviewed by the justice department's inspector general.
How did McCabe respond?
Mr McCabe has issued a lengthy statement vehemently rejecting the allegations against him and denouncing what he described as a campaign of attacks on his credibility.
He insisted he had done nothing wrong in organising the October 2016 interview, saying "it was the type of exchange with the media that the Deputy Director oversees several times per week".
He said of the subsequent justice department investigation that he tried to answer the questions "truthfully and accurately" and "when I thought my answers were misunderstood, I contacted investigators to correct them".
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The former director's most revealing moments
"The big picture is a tale of what can happen when law enforcement is politicized," he went on to say.
"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."
Mr Comey was fired as head of the FBI in May last year by the president, who cited his handling of the Clinton email investigation but later acknowledged "this Russia thing" was part of the reason.
Mr Comey had been leading the FBI's investigation into allegations of collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russian interference in the vote. He later told a Senate hearing that the president had asked for his "loyalty".
Mr McCabe alleges that the release of the justice department report recommending his firing was "accelerated" after he indicated that he would corroborate Mr Comey's version of events.
Why did Trump object to McCabe?
Mr Trump has been a frequent critic of Mr McCabe, whom he accuses of political bias in his roles in the Russia and Clinton email investigations.
He has publicly pointed to donations that Mr McCabe's wife Jill, a Democrat, received from a Clinton ally when she ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in Virginia in 2015.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The White House said it was for the attorney general, not President Trump, to fire Mr McCabe
After James Comey was fired, Mr McCabe became acting director of the FBI. Mr Trump reportedly invited him to the Oval Office and asked him who he voted for in the 2016 election.
Mr McCabe, in his statement on Friday, said he and his family had been the targets of an "unrelenting assault" in the media to undermine his reputation, and said Mr Trump's tweets had "amplified and exacerbated it all".
Citing anonymous sources on Saturday, the Associated Press news agency says Mr McCabe has kept memos of his meetings with Mr Trump. It is not clear whether they have been handed over to the special counsel leading the inquiry, Robert Mueller.
Mr Comey also kept contemporaneous notes of his encounters with Mr Trump.
Why has it happened now?
Mr McCabe had been with the FBI for two decades and was due to retire on Sunday, the day he turns 50 and can claim his federal government pension.
It is not clear how much of his pension he might lose as a result of Mr Sessions' announcement.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday said it was for the attorney general to decide Mr McCabe's future.
"But," she added, "we do think it is well documented that he has had some very troubling behaviour and by most accounts a bad actor and should have some cause for concern."
