Andrew McCabe fired 26 hours before retirement

[ThatRobGuy]

Ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is fired -- and fires back - CNNPolitics

(CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe late Friday, less than two days shy of his retirement, ending the career of an official who had risen to serve as second-in-command at the bureau.

McCabe had more recently been regularly taunted by President Donald Trump and besieged by accusations that he had misled internal investigators at the Justice Department.
In a blistering statement Friday night, McCabe said his firing is part of a larger effort to discredit the FBI and the special counsel's investigation.
"This attack on my credibility is one part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally, but to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals more generally," McCabe said. "It is part of this Administration's ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the Special Counsel investigation, which continue to this day. Their persistence in this campaign only highlights the importance of the Special Counsel's work."

 

[iluvatar5150]

I'm on the fence about this one. On the one hand, I wouldn't put it past Trump & Co. to be this cartoonishly petty and vindictive, but OTOH Sessions (despite how much I don't care for him) has never struck me as being quite that bad. McCabe's statement is consistent with both that of someone being punished for fighting for the truth and that of someone making excuses for their own failings.

I'm reserving judgment until the report comes out and somebody with some knowledge compares what went down here to how similar situations have been handled in the past.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I'm on the fence about this one. On the one hand, I wouldn't put it past Trump & Co. to be this cartoonishly petty and vindictive, but OTOH Sessions (despite how much I don't care for him) has never struck me as being quite that bad. McCabe's statement is consistent with both that of someone being punished for fighting for the truth and that of someone making excuses for their own failings.

I'm reserving judgment until the report comes out and somebody with some knowledge compares what went down here to how similar situations have been handled in the past.

The fact that it was so close to his retirement is the part that's peculiar and gives it the vibe of vindictiveness.

It'd be one thing if there were some issue that required action and the guy was going to still be there for another 2 years if nothing was done...but short of some major issue, not sure why they didn't just let him ride his time out considering it was a late Friday, and his time there was going to end over the weekend anyway.

 

[iluvatar5150]

The fact that it was so close to his retirement is the part that's peculiar and gives it the vibe of vindictiveness.

It'd be one thing if there were some issue that required action and the guy was going to still be there for another 2 years if nothing was done...but short of some major issue, not sure why they didn't just let him ride his time out considering it was a late Friday, and his time there was going to end over the weekend anyway.

Yeah, it definitely smells fishy, but I don't know what standard procedure is. When other agents have been less than forthright, have they been bounced immediately (in which case, this would just be really inconvenient timing for McCabe), or have they been allowed to quietly retire?

 

[TheBear]

Wow. Less than 2 days from retirement. That's beyond brutal. It's downright cruel.

 

[miamited]

Hi rob,

Sorry, but I just started another thread about this same subject. I didn't see yours. Looking at the timing it would seem that we were both thinking the same thing at the same time.

My position on this is about the same as 'thebear'. The timing of this firing just seems downright cruel and vindictive. Personally, not a trait I admire in people.

God bless,
In Christ, ted

 

[essentialsaltes]

The timing is bad, but the internal review board recommended his firing. It would be a tough call either way, given the coincidental timing.

The FBI office that handles employee discipline has recommended firing the bureau's former deputy director ...
The recommendation from the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility is likely to add fuel to the political fire surrounding former deputy director Andrew McCabe, who abruptly stepped down from his post earlier this year but technically remained an FBI employee.
...
A Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement: "The Department follows a prescribed process by which an employee may be terminated. That process includes recommendations from career employees, and no termination decision is final until the conclusion of that process. We have no personnel announcements at this time."

Emphasis to show it wasn't political appointees making the call.

 

[Ringo84]

A couple of details that I think are being missed:

1. The I.G report that lists the reasons why McCabe should be fired has never been released. We're taking the DOJ's word about its contents
2. Firing a man who has served for twenty years right before he can collect a pension is a petty and spiteful thing to do (no surprise when you have a president who acts like a toddler)
3. Sessions was supposed to have recused himself on Russia matters last year. And yet he was involved with firing McCabe, which was said to have begun when he became a witness for Mueller:

Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general who is representing McCabe, said the efforts to investigate and eventually fire McCabe came after disclosures that McCabe would be a “corroborating witness” against the president.

Sessions Fires FBI Official McCabe Two Days Before He Was to Retire

4. Trump's lawyer is now calling for the Mueller investigation to end: Trump’s Lawyer: It’s Time to End the Mueller Probe

Granted, Lil Donny - and many of the various grifters and sycophants surrounding him - have been saying this for ages. But they seem emboldened because they think they're untouchable, and fewer things are more dangerous than a raging narcissist who thinks he won't suffer consequences.

So the timing is suspect to say the least. I think we've been seeing a slow motion "Saturday Night Massacre" for some time now. It started with Comey and has now claimed McCabe as a victim. I wonder how much we're going to take before we finally say that enough's enough.
Ringo

 

[Snappy1]

Well that sucks.

 

[He is Risen 72]

Draining the Deep Sate Swamp…

 

[iluvatar5150]

I don't know if things work this way, but if they do, this would be hilarious.

 

[dgiharris]

The timing is bad, but the internal review board recommended his firing. It would be a tough call either way, given the coincidental timing.
.

Having worked in the government, I can tell you unequivocally that this was purely political. It is not a close call, it is not a tough call, in the government, the ONLY way you would ever fire someone a day or so away from their retirement is if they committed a serious felony.

This sort of firing for this sort of offense is just unprecedented.

When you put your life on the line for this country, you deserve a certain amount of respect and dignity. This feeling and sentiment transcends political party and government employees have a certain unspoken code about these sorts of things.

I'm sure there are plenty of Trump supporters who rejoice at something like this...
However things like this undermine the entire governmental structure. You think government is inefficient now??? What do you think happens when the environment is such that the employees are fearful and resentful of their employer?

The whole thing is just shameful for lack of a better word.

 

[Liza B.]

Having worked in the government, I can tell you unequivocally that this was purely political. It is not a close call, it is not a tough call, in the government, the ONLY way you would ever fire someone a day or so away from their retirement is if they committed a serious felony.

This sort of firing for this sort of offense is just unprecedented.

When you put your life on the line for this country, you deserve a certain amount of respect and dignity. This feeling and sentiment transcends political party and government employees have a certain unspoken code about these sorts of things.

I'm sure there are plenty of Trump supporters who rejoice at something like this...
However things like this undermine the entire governmental structure. You think government is inefficient now??? What do you think happens when the environment is such that the employees are fearful and resentful of their employer?

The whole thing is just shameful for lack of a better word.

It was his OWN people who recommended the action--the Office of Professional whatever, the name slips away now. And I get real sick and tired of this "putting your life on the line" stuff from a bunch of DC bureaucrats. Are you kidding me. I sometimes wonder if anyone in DC understands how this comes off here in the real world.

 

[Liza B.]

You know just for some insight. I work with "government employees"--some paraprofessionals who make probably ten dollars an hour--who change diapers of children who weigh more than me. Children who are not theirs, by the way. Day in and day out, they do this.

So I don't know, these tony DC types who talk about "life on the line", who really sit in offices and eat tony lunches and sniff and preen? Do not impress me at all. They don't impress a lot of Americans, actually.

Come change diapers. Then we'll talk about service, maybe.

 

[He is Risen 72]

It was his OWN people who recommended the action--the Office of Professional whatever, the name slips away now. And I get real sick and tired of this "putting your life on the line" stuff from a bunch of DC bureaucrats. Are you kidding me. I sometimes wonder if anyone in DC understands how this comes off here in the real world.

Now now Liza, papercuts can be deadly in Washington D.C.

 

[iluvatar5150]

It was his OWN people who recommended the action--the Office of Professional whatever, the name slips away now. And I get real sick and tired of this "putting your life on the line" stuff from a bunch of DC bureaucrats. Are you kidding me. I sometimes wonder if anyone in DC understands how this comes off here in the real world.

You know just for some insight. I work with "government employees"--some paraprofessionals who make probably ten dollars an hour--who change diapers of children who weigh more than me. Children who are not theirs, by the way. Day in and day out, they do this.

So I don't know, these tony DC types who talk about "life on the line", who really sit in offices and eat tony lunches and sniff and preen? Do not impress me at all. They don't impress a lot of Americans, actually.

Come change diapers. Then we'll talk about service, maybe.

You know the FBI isn't a regulatory agency, right? It's a law enforcement agency. McCabe started out at the FBI on a SWAT team and investigating organized crime.

 

[bhsmte]

The fact that it was so close to his retirement is the part that's peculiar and gives it the vibe of vindictiveness.

It'd be one thing if there were some issue that required action and the guy was going to still be there for another 2 years if nothing was done...but short of some major issue, not sure why they didn't just let him ride his time out considering it was a late Friday, and his time there was going to end over the weekend anyway.

The timing is curious, but when you look back at the clues we have, good chance the inspector generals report revealed behavior on McCabe's behalf, that reached this level. Grey pushed him out the door early after finding out what was coming in the report and the internal review board of the FBI recommended he being fired, based on the same.

If people like Flynn have been indicted for lying to investigators, it really wouldn't look good, if it turns out McCabe (as an FBI agent), misled investigators and then he walks away with a full government pension. This would create the appearance of a double standard within the entire investigation and that wouldn't look too good.

Why can't we have this; some in the FBI overstepped their bounds during the investigation and there is still a legit case against Trump?

 

[Liza B.]

You know the FBI isn't a regulatory agency, right? It's a law enforcement agency. McCabe started out at the FBI on a SWAT team and investigating organized crime.

And ended up a fatcat tony-lunch-eating bureaucrat, just like the rest of them. I bet the real workers at the FBI have just as much disdain for the fatcats as the rest of us do.

 

[USincognito]

You know the FBI isn't a regulatory agency, right? It's a law enforcement agency. McCabe started out at the FBI on a SWAT team and investigating organized crime.

But but diapers! Back the blue!!!

 

[iluvatar5150]

And ended up a fatcat tony-lunch-eating bureaucrat, just like the rest of them. I bet the real workers at the FBI have just as much disdain for the fatcats as the rest of us do.

Being a boss isn't real work?