By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON — The FBI, which has taken a beating in the public relations arena in recent times, got some more damaging news on Wednesday.
Officials within the FBI have recommended that the agency’s embattled former deputy director, Andy McCabe, be fired just days before he is set to officially leave government, ABC News reports, citing a source with knowledge of the recommendation.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will make the final decision. McCabe was not a favorite, by any means, of the White House, which could influence Session’s decision.
Trump is not well regarded among a number of FBI agents, and James Comey, who was fired as director, didn’t care for the president while he held the top FBI job.
Sources tell ABC that McCabe never intentionally misled investigators and did his best to accurately address investigators’ questions.
The recommendation from the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility came after an internal report by the Justice Department’s inspector general accused the FBI veteran of misleading investigators looking into an array of matters connected to the 2016 presidential campaign, the source said, according to ABC News.
If fired, McCabe worries that he could lose his full pension, the station reports.
In January, FBI Director Christopher Wray pressured McCabe to quit in advance of an inspector general report examining the agency, CBS News reported.
McCabe is due to retired on March 18.
