Trump punishes Andrew McCabe (pictured) and again tries to undermine FBI over Russia investigation


Developments on Day 421 of the Trump Administration:

Trump: “A Great Day for Hard Working Men and Women of FBI”

Donald Trump formally fires Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, 26 hours before McCabe was due to retire.

Trump’s order, carried out by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, sought both to punish the deputy director and to undermine the agency over the Trump-Russia investigation, which continues to develop under Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s oversight.

McCabe immediately responded to his dismissal, as well as Trump’s persistent insults via statements and tweets.

The idea that I was dishonest is just wrong. This is part of an effort to discredit me as a witness [in the inquiry]….

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 learned of the dismissal from press accounts — an e-mail notifying him of the move was sent to his work account and his lawyers only minutes before a statement from Sessions.

A Long-Running Campaign

Trump has targeted the deputy director ever since McCabe took interim charge of the FBI after Trump’s removal of Comey in May 2017, in an attempt to curb or even halt the investigation. The President focused on a campaign for State office by McCabe’s wife Jill, to which Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe — an ally of Hillary Clinton — donated money.

The Administration finally found cause for McCabe’s removal with an accusation, detailed in a yet-to-be-released internal report, that he was not forthcoming about a conversation he authorized between FBI officials and a journalist.

McCabe took a leave of absence in December and said that he would retire early from the FBI, as soon as he could claim a full pension. Trump’s order on Friday means that the deputy director could lose much of that pension.

Trump indicated at the time that he might seek retribution:

Attorney General Sessions said in a statement on Friday, “The F.B.I. expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and accountability. I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately.”

Trump then gloated on Twitter:

McCabe questioned Trump’s purported interest in the “hard working men of women” of the agency: “The real damage is being done to the FBI, law enforcement, and the Special Counsel.”

As Mueller’s investigation closes on Trump and his inner circle, with the conviction and indictment of several officials and campaign staff, Trump’s team have stepped up the effort to discredit the FBI.

However, the “Nunes memo” — written by the staff of Trump ally and House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes — failed to make a significant impact last month with its claims that the FBI acted improperly when it obtained a warrant from a top-secret Government court for the surveillance of Trump advisor Carter Page, suspected of being a Russian agent.

Since then, Mueller has obtained the cooperation of former Trump staff, including Rick Gates, the top aide to Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Special Counsel has subpoenaed the financial records of the Trump Organization, defying Trump’s red line over any investigation of his family business.