FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is out the door at the bureau, about a month ahead of schedule. According to Pat Milton at CBS News, a source familiar with the matter confirms that McCabe was forced to step down. He is currently on leave and will official retire in March.
McCabe was under considerable scrutiny from Republicans, as special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and any ties to Trump associates continued. McCabe took temporary charge of the FBI after President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey earlier this year, and some skeptics viewed McCabe as too close to his former boss.
After the president fired Comey, he asked McCabe, who was then the acting FBI director, whom he voted for in the 2016 presidential election. Mr. Trump also expressed his anger with McCabe over his wife’s ties to the Clinton family during the same meeting in May, the Washington Post reported last week.
Republicans have been giving the “stink eye” to McCabe, who was connected to the FBI Clinton email investigation, because of his wife’s ties to Democratic politics. McCabe’s wife, Jill McCabe, received $500,000 in donations in 2015 from Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a close ally of the Clintons, in her bid for statewide office. Republicans asked why McCabe didn’t remove himself from the Clinton email probe, perceiving a conflict of interest. McCabe’s wife’s campaign ended months before he become involved with the investigation, according to the FBI.