Will Former FBI Official Andrew McCabe Face Charges? Justice Department Reveals Decision

Attorneys for former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a frequent target of President Trump’s wrath, said Friday the Justice Department has decided against charging their client with lying to investigators about a leak to the media.

The announcement came one day after Attorney General William Barr issued a mild rebuke to Trump for tweeting about criminal cases and just hours after the president tweeted he has a right to intervene.

Trump forced McCabe out in March 2018, miffed about his role in the Hillary Clinton investigation, the Russian election interference investigation and his wife’s failed 2015 congressional run. Trump backed his prosecution, believing McCabe had targeted him unfairly by authorizing an investigation of Trump personally for obstruction of justice.

McCabe, who was fired just hours before he could retire with full benefits, has been under investigation for two years.

Attorneys Michael Bromwich and David Schertler said they were informed of the Justice Department decision to end the two-year investigation by phone, which was followed up with a letter.

“We write to inform you that, after careful consideration, the government has decided not to pursue criminal charges against your client, Andrew G. McCabe,” said the letter signed by J.P. Cooney, chief of the Fraud & Public Corruption Section, and Molly Gaston, assistance U.S. Attorney for the Fraud & Public Corruption Section.

“At long last, justice has been done in this matter,” the lawyers said in a statement. “We said at the outset of the criminal investigation, almost two years ago, that if the facts and the law determined the result, no charges would be brought.”

Prosecutors reportedly viewed Trump’s attacks on the Justice Department and the FBI as a complicating factor that had tainted the case.

The McCabe investigation was prompted by findings by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz who said McCabe had misled investigators in 2018 about information disclosed to the Wall Street Journal two years earlier involving the Clinton Foundation. He initially denied involvement.

The New York Times reported one witness told the grand jury investigating the case McCabe had no reason to lie because as deputy director, he was authorized to talk to the press while another had trouble recalling how the leak unfolded.

McCabe’s FBI career spanned 21 years, beginning with investigations in New York on Russian organized crime. He oversaw major investigations into international terrorism and rose to deputy director in January 2016.

He is suing the government for wrongful termination, claiming his ouster was politically motivated. He has since accused the administration of withholding evidence in the suit.