What was a long time coming occurred on Friday when Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired Andrew McCabe, the number two man at the FBI. Speculation on his departure ranged from imminent retirement on Sunday or being fired earlier. Session’s act likely negates most of McCabe’s pension package.
McCabe, a longtime thorn in the side of Donald Trump had more than 20 years with the bureau. He had already stepped down under pressure in January and has been on a leave of absence since.
In a statement Friday evening, Sessions cited findings by the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of Inspector General (OIG). Their internal investigation had ruled McCabe had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and "lacked candor, including under oath, on multiple occasions."
In layman’s terms, McCabe lied. It took little time for McCabe to suggest his firing was the result of Trump's dislike of him and an obvious ploy to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
He went further in an interview with The New York Times saying, “The idea that I was dishonest is just wrong. This is part of an effort to discredit me as a witness.”
But anyone following this complicated story of intrigue and a cast of thousands needs to understand the underlying reasons for McCabe’s downfall. It wasn’t some knee jerk reaction at any level. McCabe's dismissal was directly caused by a recommendation of an internal FBI office that handles disciplinary matters. That requires a thorough investigation.
The Times cited that reasoning was based on findings from the Justice Department inspector general. It was found that McCabe had not been forthcoming during the review. Although that can be construed a thousand ways, their wording included McCabe’s decision in 2016 to allow FBI officials to speak with reporters about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
The question is why Inspector General Michael Horowitz acted now instead of waiting for the close of the entire investigation into decisions made during the 2016 election? The inference by McCabe and his allies is that it is purely political.
The final report is expected this spring. In the meantime, McCabe is making no friends at the FBI. Although the final decision on his pension is yet to be announced, such statements by the disgraced former FBI official will not help his side. Nevertheless, McCabe wrote, "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."
He continued, "The OIG's focus on me and this report became 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."
There is no question the investigation(s) into collusion with the Russians is political. As deputy director, McCabe was integrally involved in both the bureau’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email server and the Russia probe.
That is where the taint on McCabe and his career began. His wife, Jill McCabe, accepted political donations from a group affiliated with then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), a close Clinton ally, during her run for state Senate.
That had drawn a few frowns from the president. He tweeted Sessions last July to replace Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, whom he called “a Comey (former FBI Director Trump fired) friend who was in charge of Clinton investigation?”
At a press briefing last Thursday, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders summed up the White House thoughts by calling McCabe, “a bad actor.” She insisted McCabe’s future was strictly up to Attorney General Sessions.
It may all end up in the courts. McCabe was a career agent and therefore cannot be fired without just cause of wrongdoing. There are 10,000 lawyers hungry to take on that wording at his behest. By the time potential wrongful dismissal case winds itself through the system, all the main characters will most likely be retired or dead.
Meanwhile, the usual suspects accuse the president of improperly influencing the FBI leadership and his longstanding aggression toward McCabe. Like everything else this is Trump vs. the Media/Democrats/Resistance, tell it to the judge.
Democrats have accused the president of trying to improperly influence law enforcement and say his longstanding aggression towards McCabe and other Justice Department officials could help Mueller build an obstruction of justice case against him.
Dwight L. Schwab, Jr. is an award-winning national political and foreign affairs columnist and published author. He has spent over 35 years in the publishing industry. His long-running articles include many years at Examiner.com and currently Newsblaze.com. Dwight is an author of two highly acclaimed books, "Redistribution of Common Sense - Selected Commentaries on the Obama Administration 2009-2014" and "The Game Changer - America's Most Stunning Election in History." He is a native of Portland, Oregon, a journalism graduate from the University of Oregon, and a resident of the SF Bay Area. To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.