Special counsel Robert Mueller has obtained a memo written by former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe detailing behind-the-scenes moves President Trump made before he dismissed ex-FBI Director James Comey, according to a report.
McCabe describes a May 2017 conversation he had with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, whose own memo provided context for Comey’s firing by criticizing his handling of the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton, per the New York Times.
But McCabe, himself fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, allegedly wrote that Rosenstein told him Trump had asked that Russia be alluded to in the memo. Rosenstein did not offer specifics regarding what Trump originally wanted him to say.
McCabe took this as evidence Comey’s ouster was related to the FBI’s probe into the Trump campaign’s possible ties with the Kremlin, the Times reports.
Spokeswomen for both McCabe and the Justice Department declined to comment to the newspaper.
Comey’s dismissal on May 9, 2017, is an important part of Mueller’s investigation as the special counsel continues to weigh potential obstruction of justice charges in regard to the FBI’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
McCabe was fired from his post on March 16, less than 48 hours before he was expected to retire with a full pension.
Sessions said McCabe was let go due to “allegations of misconduct” leveled against him by the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General, including that he “lacked candor” on four separate occasions.
But McCabe’s legal representation has slammed the IG’s report for containing the “most egregious inaccuracies.”
