Tag: Iconoclasm

Former top FBI official Andrew McCabe, who was fired late Friday night by Attorney General Jeff Sessions two days before becoming eligible for full pension benefits, said in an extraordinary statement that he was targeted because President Donald Trump wants to destroy him as part of his "war" against special counsel Robert Mueller. "It is part of this administration's ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the special counsel investigation, which continue to this day. McCabe noted in his statement that he had knowledge that could be useful to Mueller's investigation into events involving the president. "Here is the reality: 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 (FBI director) James Comey," McCabe said. "The (Inspector General's office) focus on me and this report became a part of an unprecedented effort by the administration, driven by the president himself, to remove me from my position, destroy my reputation, and possibly strip me of a pension that I worked 21 years to earn," he continued. McCabe has in the past been targeted for repeated attacks by Trump and early Saturday morning, the president tweeted that the veteran FBI official's firing was a "great day" for democracy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI! A source familiar with the situation told NBC News Saturday that McCabe kept notes of his interactions with Trump, and they were turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team some time ago. The FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility had recommend that McCabe be fired after the inspector general's report determined that he had not been fully truthful in his answers to investigators' questions about the handling of the Clinton probe, according to officials familiar with the report. He called for me to be stripped of my pension after more than 20 years of service.