By Shreya Maskara
Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe was fired on Friday by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, just two days before his retirement. McCabe, a frequent recipient of President Donald Trumps wrath, worked for the bureau for over 21 years.
He (McCabe) knew all about the lies and corruption going on, tweeted President Trump early Saturday morning. (Its) a great day for democracy.
In a statement released shortly after his firing, McCabe said he believes the decision to fire him was politically motivated, and that he and his family have been targets of an unrelenting assault. McCabe added he thinks the firing is part of a larger war on the FBI by the Trump administration.
“This attack on my credibility is one part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally, but to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals more generally,” McCabe said.
McCabes retirement was scheduled for Sundayhis 50th birthdayafter which he would have been entitled to receive retirement benefits and a pension.
Sessions said in a statement that he accepted an internal recommendation from the FBI that showcased that Mr. McCabe had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor ? including under oath ? on multiple occasions. McCabes dismissal was recommended due to his contacts with a former Wall Street Journal reporter in 2016.
McCabe responded to these accusations by saying his association with the former reporter was not a secret and everyone at the FBI, including former FBI chief James Comey was aware of this, as this was a typical aspect of his job to undertake media exchange.
Read More: At loggerheads with the White House: The curious case of Andrew McCabe
Since the abrupt firing of Comey, who was ousted in a very similar manner, McCabe made news by contradicting Trump in a congressional hearing. Although McCabe served as the acting director of the FBI for three months in 2017, his sudden announcement of an early retirement was met with applause by the Republicans.
In fact, Rep. Trey Gowdy, who is also a member of the House judiciary committee, said in an interview with Fox News that he would be surprised if McCabe continued to be an FBI employee after his (McCabe) announcement to testify behind closed doors with the House intelligence committee
McCabe added in his statement that he thinks the persistence with which officials pursued a slander campaign against him, shows their efforts to discredit the work of the FBI.
I have unfailing faith in the men and women of the FBI and I am confident that their efforts to seek justice will not be deterred, he added.
McCabes firing is just one in a line of several senior staff and cabinet members to leave the White House since Trump took office. While some like former National Security Adviser Micheal Flynn resigned under tremendous pressure from the administration, others like ex-Acting Attorney General Sally Yates resigned just days after Trump took office.
Rex Tillerson, former secretary of state
Tillerson was ousted just a few days before McCabes unceremonious firing. Trump announced in a tweet that Tillerson will be replaced by CIA director Mike Pompeo. Trumps decision to fire Tillerson came as no surprise as the two had been clashing for months.
Gary Cohen, former director of National Economic Council
Cohn, Trumps top economic adviser, announced his resignation from the White House in March, after disagreements with the president over trade policy, in particular, Trumps planned tariffs on imports of metals.
Sally Yates, former acting attorney general
After a career spanning three decades with the Department of Justice (DoJ), Yates was fired just 11 days into her tenure with the Trump administration. Yates was fired for instructing DoJ lawyers to not uphold Trumps executive order banning immigration from seven countries with a predominantly Muslim population.
James Comey, former FBI director
Comey was fired in May 2017, after he had been leading an investigation into Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and possible collusion with Russia to influence votes. Trump criticised Comeys handling of the investigation into the Clinton emails.
Michael Flynn, former national security adviser
Flynn resigned under tremendous pressure, just three weeks into his tenure after information was releveled that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about the meetings with the Russian ambassador to the US before Trump took office. It was disclosed that Flynn discussed US sanctions on Russia with the Ambassador.
Sean Spicer, former press secretary
Spicer resigned in July 2017, just hours after Trump appointed Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, a move Spicer disagreed with.
Anthony Scaramucci, former communications director
Scaramucci was pushed to resign merely six days into his tenure after an expletive-laden phone conversation between him and a New Yorker reporter was made public.
Other important departures included:
Katie Walsh, former deputy chief of staff
Ezra Cohen-Watnick, former senior director for intelligence programs, National Security Council
K.T. McFarland, former deputy national security adviser
Michael Short, former assistant press secretary
Reince Priebus, former chief of staff.
Elizabeth Southerland, former director, Environment Protection Agency
Preet Bharara, former US attorney, Southern District of New York
Steven Goldstein former undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs
Steve Bannon, Chief White House Strategist