Former deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe has dropped a bombshell revelation about the actions of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2017 in the wake of former FBI Director James Comey’s firing.
60 Minutes host Scott Pelley appeared on “CBS This Morning,†today and said that McCabe told him in his 60 Minutes interview (to be aired Sunday) that the DOJ had meetings in May of 2017 to discuss whether Donald Trump’s cabinet could be rallied to oust him from power.
“The most illuminating and surprising thing in the interview to me were these 8 days in May… There were meetings at the Justice Dept, in which it was discussed whether the VP and a majority of the cabinet could be brought together to remove the POTUS under the 25th Amendment”
"The most illuminating and surprising thing in the interview to me were these 8 days in May… There were meetings at the Justice Dept, in which it was discussed whether the VP and a majority of the cabinet could be brought together to remove the POTUS under the 25th Amendment" pic.twitter.com/cs0gBdYoSB
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— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 14, 2019
“There were meetings at the Justice Department at which it was discussed whether the vice president and a majority of the cabinet could be brought together to remove the president of the United States under the 25th Amendment,†Pelley revealed today.
In the 60 Minutes interview with Pelley, McCabe also discussed Department of Justice investigations into the president.
“NEW: In his first interview since being fired, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is telling @60Minutes why he opened up investigations involving President Trump.â€
NEW: In his first interview since being fired, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is telling @60Minutes why he opened up investigations involving President Trump. @ScottPelley reports: pic.twitter.com/wGmtcPFyvq
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 14, 2019
The “CBS This Morning†co-hosts inquired of Pelley about the atmosphere in the White House at the time of Comey’s firing:
“What did he say about friction in the White House after Comey was fired?â€
“Well he tells the story of the president repeatedly in meetings and phone calls, trying to convince McCabe that everyone at the FBI wanted Comey fired & everyone was very happy about that.”
What did he say about friction in the White House after Comey was fired?
"Well he tells the story of the president repeatedly in meetings and phone calls, trying to convince McCabe that everyone at the FBI wanted Comey fired & everyone was very happy about that." –@ScottPelley pic.twitter.com/ywvG0AQcwB
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 14, 2019
The commentators who have read McCabe’s book said that “he speaks very candidly about his feelings for the president.†It appears that McCabe is not holding back anything in his assessment of the man who forced him out of one of the top law enforcement jobs in the country.
In fact, according to his book, McCabe feared he would be ordered to stop investigating Trump’s ties to Russia after the firing of Comey. In one passage he describes his interaction with the president after he fired the former FBI director, according to excerpts published by The Atlantic.
McCabe wrote:
“After Comey’s firing, the core of my concern had to do with what might happen to the Russia case if I were to be removed. Was the work on solid ground? Were there individuals on whom we should consider opening new cases? I wanted to protect the Russia investigation in such a way that whoever came after me could not just make it go away.â€
McCabe said he immediately got his DOJ team together for a series of meetings about the Russia investigation. In the first meeting he was interrupted by what he called “a bizarre phone call from the president.†On the call, McCabe wrote, Trump insisted on coming to the FBI offices to speak with investigators in person.
Clearly Donald Trump was very paranoid about the Russia investigation, and all of his actions prove it. He was being investigated by people in the DOJ who report to him, and he clearly abused his power by intimidating and ultimately firing some of these people.
What McCabe’s book shows is that Donald Trump‘s vice president and cabinet, along with the DOJ, have considered removing him from office. Clearly the former DOJ official is correct: Donald Trump is indeed “A Threat” to America, and to the very constitutional framework upon which our country is built.
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.
