It sounds as if Andrew McCabe is going to be facing indictment after all. Here it is from an ABC News reporter:
Sources: The Justice Department has rejected appeals by lawyers for former FBI deputy director Andy McCabe, who had urged DOJ to refrain from seeking an indictment against McCabe for allegedly lying to internal investigators about a disclosure to a reporter in late 2016.
— Mike Levine (@MLevineReports) September 12, 2019
NY Times is hearing the same thing:
https://twitter.com/ktbenner/status/1172195511929118722
Now Fox News is reporting that a US attorney had recommended McCabe be prosecuted for the “lack of candor” described in the Inspector General’s report:
U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu has recommended moving forward with charges against Andrew McCabe, Fox News has learned, as the Justice Department rejects a last-ditch appeal from the former top FBI official.
McCabe — the former deputy and acting director of the FBI — appealed the decision of the U.S. attorney for Washington all the way up to Jeffrey Rosen, the deputy attorney general, but the department rejected that request, according to a person familiar with the situation…
A source close to McCabe’s legal team said they received an email from the Department of Justice which said, “The Department rejected your appeal of the United States Attorney’s Office’s decision in this matter. Any further inquiries should be directed to the United States Attorney’s Office.”
Two weeks ago, Fox News reported the DOJ was close to a decision on charging McCabe. At the time I wondered aloud whether charges could possibly happen given that McCabe had just been hired as a contributor by CNN. Well, it looks like I really overestimated CNN. So the question now is what happens next.
Is CNN really going to have this guy on the air opining about President Trump’s dishonesty while he’s facing charges for lying to the FBI under oath? The sensible thing to do at this point would be to announce his dismissal quietly Friday afternoon. But assuming they’ll do the smart thing might be overestimating CNN again. After all, if they were smart they’d never have hired someone who was a) suing the FBI, b) fired for lying to the FBI, and c) facing indictment. Whoever greenlit this hire probably also ought to be dismissed.
As to the charges themselves, the IG report makes a pretty convincing case that McCabe lied under oath to FBI agents who questioned him about a leak to the Wall Street Journal and then lied about having lied when questioned by the IG. As Andrew McCarthy argued last month, if General Michael Flynn didn’t get a pass despite his years of service, it’s pretty hard to argue McCabe should get one.
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