FBI No. 2 McCabe sacked by Trump

Washington, March 17

The Trump administration has fired Andrew McCabe, the FBI Deputy Director, who was set to retire on Sunday accusing him of making an unauthorised disclosure to the media. The announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions late Friday night .

Sessions said McCabe has been fired based on the recommendation of an internal FBI office that handles disciplinary matters. The FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and Office of Inspector General (OIG) had found McCabe made an unauthorised disclosure to the news media and “lacked candour - including under oath - on multiple occasions,” the attorney general said.

According to reports, McCabe was among the first at the FBI to scrutinise possible Trump campaign ties to Russia.

He hits back

McCabe in a lengthy statement fired back alleging that his termination was an effort on the part of the administration to undermine the investigation in the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election by counsel Robert Mueller. “This attack on my credibility is one part of a larger effort to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals more generally,” he said. — PTI