Politics

Report: Feds Close To Deciding Whether To Indict CNN Analyst Andrew McCabe

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The Justice Department is close to deciding whether to indict Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director and newly minted CNN analyst, on charges of lying to the FBI during a media leak investigation.

McCabe’s attorneys met twice last week with Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen regarding the investigation of McCabe, according to The New York Times.

The 21-year FBI veteran was fired on March 16, 2018 after the bureau’s Office of Professional Responsibility and Justice Department inspector general determined that he displayed a “lack of candor” at least four times in interviews about his authorization of leaks to the media in October 2016.

The inspector general referred McCabe to the Justice Department for prosecution. The case is being handled by prosecutors in Washington, D.C.

McCabe sued the Justice Department and FBI over his firing Aug. 8. McCabe has claimed he did not lie to the FBI. He also claims he was fired due to political pressure from President Donald Trump.

CNN hired McCabe as a law enforcement analyst Friday.

A case against McCabe could face some headwinds, according to the Times’ report. A grand jury witness in the investigation has provided testimony that could undermine the government’s case, according to the newspaper.

Trump and his conservative supporters have been heavily critical of McCabe, who had a leading role in the Trump-Russia investigation. In May 2017, after Trump fired James Comey as FBI director, McCabe authorized the FBI to investigate Trump for obstruction of justice. McCabe also opened an investigation into whether then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions committed perjury about Russia contacts during his Senate confirmation hearings. The special counsel’s report cleared Sessions of any wrongdoing.

McCabe also arranged a Jan. 24, 2017 interview between FBI agents and then-national security adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn pleaded guilty in the special counsel’s investigation to lying to the agents regarding his conversations a month earlier with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.