Sessions Accuses McCabe of Making “Unauthorized Disclosures” to the News Media

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that he decided to fire FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe after the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility recommended he be fired for his alleged lack of candor and misleading responses during an internal review of how an investigation into the Clinton Foundation was handled by the Bureau.

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McCabe and his personal attorney met with a high-ranking employee of the Justice Department Thursday and discussed McCabe’s desire to prevent his dismissal and to save his pension from the government. McCabe is a lifelong Republican, as are many of the FBI’s high-ranking officials.  

In January McCabe officially left his position in the FBI but under department rules was allowed to stay on the payroll using paid leave he had accrued over his 21 years of service.  If he had stayed on the payroll until Sunday, March 18th, his 50th birthday, he would be able to collect his full pension. With Trump and Sessions firing him, McCabe will have to wait years to collect a pension which is rightfully his.

Read below the full statement issued by Attorney General Sessions:

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).

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.”

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.

McCabe responded to the firing in a lengthy statement.

“The investigation by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has to be understood in the context of the attacks on my credibility,” McCabe wrote.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.