30 January 2018 - FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe Steps Down
Taunted by Trump and Pressured From Above, McCabe Steps Down as F.B.I. Deputy
Adam Goldma and Matt Apuzzo (The New York Times, 29/01/2018)
Andrew G. McCabe abruptly stepped down on Monday as the F.B.I.’s deputy director after months of withering criticism from President Trump, telling friends he felt pressure from the head of the bureau to leave, according to two people close to Mr. McCabe.
Though Mr. McCabe’s retirement had been widely expected soon, his departure was nevertheless sudden. It added to what has already been a chaotic upheaval at the F.B.I. under Mr. Trump, who has responded to an investigation into his campaign with broadside attacks against both the bureau and the Justice Department.
As recently as last week, Mr. McCabe had told people he hoped to stay until he was eligible to retire in several weeks. Instead, he will immediately go on leave and retire on March 18.
Andrew McCabe is retiring early. Here’s what we know.
Jennifer Rubin (The Washington Post, 29/01/2018)
After reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, at the direction of the president, unsuccessfully applied pressure on FBI Director Christopher A. Wray to fire Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, McCabe has announced that he intends to depart earlier than planned. NBC News, which first reported McCabe’s exit, tells us: “A long-time career servant, McCabe had served at the FBI since 1996 under former directors Robert Mueller and [James] Comey. [President] Trump was asked on Monday whether he knew McCabe was stepping aside and the president did not answer.”
The president has also publicly excoriated McCabe, questioning his handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe Steps Down
Eric Tucker and Sadie Gurman (TIME Magazine, 29/01/2018)
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, a target of frequent and aggressive criticism by President Donald Trump, abruptly stepped down from his position Monday ahead of his planned retirement this spring.
A 22-year veteran of the FBI, McCabe has been publicly and repeatedly lambasted over the past year by Trump, who has accused him of bias because of his wife’s political connections and an FBI investigation that produced no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton.
McCabe, who has held a number of FBI leadership roles and been heavily involved in investigations into major crimes including the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, becomes eligible for retirement in a matter of weeks. FBI staff learned Monday that McCabe was leaving the bureau’s No. 2 post effective immediately, according to people who spoke only on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal personnel move. He is expected to retire with full pension benefits.
Trump Called Andrew McCabe's Wife a 'Loser' in Phone Call With FBI Deputy Director: Report
Grace Guarnieri (Newsweek, 29/01/2018)
President Donald Trump reportedly lashed out at Andrew McCabe, who stepped down as the deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Monday, during a phone call in May 2017 when the president suggested that McCabe ask his wife how it feels to be a loser.
Trump hung up the phone after McCabe said "Okay, sir," sources familiar with the call told NBC News. The White House refused to be quoted on the record to NBC News, but an official speaking anonymously disputed the report. The FBI declined to comment.
Sources are said to have told the network that Trump made the phone call a day after he fired former FBI Director James Comey to find out why Comey took a flight on a government-funded FBI plane after he had been dismissed.