Then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe on Capitol Hill in May 11, 2017. Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Update 3:48 p.m.: President Trump tweeted in response to the McCabe report:
DOJ just issued the McCabe report – which is a total disaster. He LIED! LIED! LIED! McCabe was totally controlled by Comey – McCabe is Comey!! No collusion, all made up by this den of thieves and lowlifes!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018
The Justice Department’s inspector general released his report on fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe on Friday, finding that he “lacked candor” in discussions with then-FBI Director James Comey, FBI investigators, and Office of the Inspector General investigators regarding leaks to the media.
“We found that, in a conversation with then-Director Comey shortly after the WSJ article was published, McCabe lacked candor when he told Comey, or made statements that led Comey to believe, that McCabe had not authorized the disclosure and did not know who did,” the report states.
The report also says that the leaks, in which he confirmed the existence of an investigation into the Clinton Foundation just before the 2016 elections, violated FBI policy: “We therefore concluded that McCabe’s disclosure of the existence of an ongoing investigation in this manner violated the FBI’s and the Department’s media policy and constituted misconduct.”
McCabe’s lawyer, Michael Bromwich, responded with a statement, released on Twitter, in which he called the decision to fire McCabe “rushed” and “unprecedented.” He further said the findings that McCabe made false statements to investigators “are more properly understood as the result of misunderstanding, miscommunication, and honest failures of recollection.”
The IG report is out: Andy McCabe’s reward for 21 years devoted service was 23 days worth of “due process.” The AG terminated him 26 hours short of his retirement on very shaky facts, depriving him of his retirement benefits. A disgrace. My statement: https://t.co/u2TeRCoUzf
— Michael R. Bromwich (@mrbromwich) April 13, 2018
Read the full report below.
