Sessions Fires Former FBI No. 2 McCabe Two Days before His Scheduled Retirement

Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired Andrew McCabe Friday night, just two days before the former deputy director of the FBI was scheduled to retire.

McCabe, who briefly served as acting director of the FBI following former director James Comey’s dismissal, is said to be accused in an internal DOJ inspector general’s report of “lacking candor” while speaking to investigators about contacts he had with a Wall Street Journal reporter.

“The F.B.I. expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and accountability,” Sessions said in a statement released late Friday. “I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately.”

President Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly criticized McCabe for his role in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. McCabe’s critics cite campaign contributions, made to the Senate campaign of McCabe’s wife, by a political committee run by longtime Clinton-ally Terry McAuliffe.

After Sessions made McCabe’s firing public, Trump said it was “a great day for Democracy.”

McCabe, who is in the unique position of being able to speak to the events surrounding Trump’s dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey, told the New York Times the decision was part of an effort to “discredit” him.

“I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey,” he said in a statement issued by his lawyers.