Like many, I have doubts about the wisdom of a second special counsel. As Mueller and others before him have proven, once they begin, special counsels are reluctant to stop. There is no applause for coming up empty-handed, so the incentive is to continue until they get a scalp or three.

Another problem is that special counsels operate without clear accountability, especially when, as in Mueller’s case, they are appointed by officials despite presidential objections.

Yet those concerns now pale next to the accumulation of evidence of serious and widespread wrongdoing during the last two years. Although the Inspector General of the Justice Department was the first to flag McCabe’s “lack of candor” when asked about a media leak, McCabe would not be required even to answer the IG’s questions after he retired.