By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who has come under relentless fire from Republicans and President Trump, has stepped down a month earlier than expected.
McCabe joined the FBI in 1996 and quickly climbed the ranks, becoming the second-in-command in 2016. He briefly served as acting director last summer after Trump fired James Comey from the top job in May.
Trump and other Republicans accused him of political bias in the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email use as secretary of state. Trump even claimed McCabe played an influential role in the bureau’s decision not to seek charges against Clinton.
The accusations began when his wife, Jill McCabe, was a Democratic candidate for state Senate in Virginia and received nearly $500,000 in donations from the political organization of Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend of the Clintons.
The FBI determined there was no conflict because McCabe did not oversee the investigation while his wife was still running.
Still, McCabe has been the primary target of a campaign by Trump and other Republicans to undermine confidence in the top ranks of the FBI amid the Russia investigation.
It was revealed last week that Trump urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to pressure the new FBI director, Chris Wray, to fire McCabe. Wray refused and threatened to resign if he was asked to do it again.
McCabe plans to go on leave until he becomes eligible for retirement in mid-March.
