Justice Department Drops Case Against a Trump Nemesis

Former FBI deputy Andrew McCabe won't face charges over media disclosure
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 14, 2020 11:44 AM CST
Justice Department Drops Case Against a Trump Nemesis
In this June 7, 2017, file photo, then FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe listens during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

This might provide President Trump another reason to unleash tweets critical of the Justice Department: Federal prosecutors have declined to charge former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, closing an investigation into whether he lied to federal officials about his involvement in a news media disclosure, per the AP. The decision resolves a criminal investigation that spanned more than a year and began with a referral from the Justice Department’s inspector general, which said McCabe repeatedly lied about having authorized a subordinate to share information with a newspaper reporter for a 2016 article about an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation. McCabe’s lawyers said in a statement they were told in a phone call and letter that the case is closed and “no charges will be brought against him based on the facts.”

McCabe, a frequent target of attacks from President Trump, has denied that he intentionally misled anyone. He has said his 2018 firing—for what the Justice Department called “lack of candor”—was politically motivated. He sued the Justice Department in August, saying officials had used the inspector general’s conclusions as a pretext to rid the FBI of leaders Trump perceived as biased against him. In a letter on Friday, prosecutors told McCabe’s lawyers that they decided “not to pursue criminal charges against your client” after careful consideration. “Based on the totality of the circumstances and all of the information known to the government at this time, we consider the matter closed,” said the letter, signed by the chief of the US attorney’s office’s public corruption unit. (More Andrew McCabe stories.)

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