FBI's McCabe is fired a little more than 24 hours before he could retire
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions late Friday night fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, a little over 24 hours before McCabe was set to retire.
Sessions announced the decision in a statement just before 10 p.m., noting that both the Justice Department Inspector General and the FBI office that handles discipline had found "that Mr. McCabe had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor - including under oath - on multiple occasions."
He said based on those findings and the recommendation of the department's senior career official, "I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately."
The move will likely cost McCabe a significant portion of his retirement benefits, though it is possible he could bring a legal challenge. McCabe has been fighting vigorously to keep his job and on Thursday spent nearly four hours inside the Justice Department pleading his case.
McCabe has become a lightning rod in the political battles over the FBI's most high-profile cases, including the Russia investigation and the probe of Hillary Clinton's email practices. He has been a frequent target of criticism from President Donald Trump.
His firing - which was recommended by the FBI office that handles discipline - stems from a Justice Department inspector general investigation that found McCabe authorized the disclosure of sensitive information to the media about a Clinton-related case, then misled investigators about his actions in the matter, people familiar with the matter have said. He stepped down earlier this year from the No. 2 job in the bureau after FBI Director Christopher Wray was briefed on the inspector general's findings, though he technically was still an employee.
McCabe disputes that he misled anyone and said in a statement Friday that his firing was part of a Trump administration "war" on the FBI.
"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, referring to the former FBI director Trump fired in May.