U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu landed a major case on Thursday when the Justice Department’s internal watchdog reportedly sent her a criminal referral involving former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who stands accused of misleading federal investigators over his involvement in sensitive leaks to the media.
The criminal referral comes less than a week after Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz sent a report to Congress claiming McCabe lied to then-FBI Director James Comey and investigators on four separate occasions, at least three of which occurred when he was under oath. In most cases, these were intended to cover up his unauthorized approval of the release of sensitive information to reporters. CNN first reported Horowitz decision to recommend McCabe for prosecution.
Liu is no stranger to the political spotlight. The former deputy general counsel for the Treasury Department was appointed by President Trump last July to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
She drew scrutiny during her Senate confirmation hearing for acknowledging that she had met with the president at least once while in the process of interviewing for the position, an uncommon occurrence for past U.S. attorney nominees.
“It’s wrong and the reason it’s wrong is that it serves to undermine the rule of law,” Joyce Vance, the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, said at the time.
Others, including Obama-appointed U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, defended Liu as a reputable attorney whose reasons for meeting with Trump were almost certainly innocent. “Based on my enormous regard for Jessie, I wouldn’t be concerned here,” he told CNN last July.
Most of the concerns surrounding Liu’s sit-down with the president stemmed from the various congressional investigations White House officials were facing last summer, some of which remain ongoing.
“[I]t is worth noting that when Congress pursues criminal contempt for witnesses declining to provide subpoenaed testimony or documents, it must rely on the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colombia to bring the matter before a grand jury and to prosecute,” former White House counsel Bob Bauer previously wrote about the matter. “In this administration, with major congressional investigations pending, the U.S. Attorney may find herself in this position.
Liu previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District, primarily handling criminal cases, and worked in the Justice Department’s national security division. She was nominated to her current position last June, and received Senate confirmation on Sept. 15, 2017.
The McCabe case will be Liu’s first high-profile proceeding since becoming the District’s top prosecutor. It comes just one month after McCabe, who raised more than $500,000 earlier this month to help with his legal costs, was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the eve of his scheduled retirement.
McCabe could face up to five years in prison and a hefty fine if he’s found guilty of lying to federal investigators and approving the release of sensitive information. The former top law enforcement official allegedly authorized two of his FBI colleagues to share information about the Clinton email probe with journalists at the Wall Street Journal in October 2016, around the time Comey revealed that the agency had reopened its investigation into the former secretary of state’s use of private email server.
