Scathing IG report faults former FBI deputy director

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department inspector general delivered to Congress on Friday a highly critical report that accused Andrew G. McCabe, the former FBI deputy director, of repeat- edly misleading investigators.

The inspector general said that when investiga- tors asked whether he had instructed aides to provide information in October 2016 to a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, McCabe said he did not authorize the disclosure and did not know who did.

But McCabe did approve the FBI’s contact with the reporter, according to the review.

The newspaper article delved into a dispute between FBI and Justice Department officials over how to proceed in an investigation into the financial deal- ings of the Clinton family’s foundation. It revealed a sensitive meeting during which Justice Department officials declined to authorize subpoenas or grand jury activity. The inspector general also concluded that McCabe’s disclosure of the existence of the ongoing investigation in the manner described in the report violated media policy of the FBI and Justice Department and constituted misconduct.

In a statement, McCabe said that he had full authorization to share this informat ion with the med i a. McCabe also said that he did not intentionally mislead investigators.

The report, written by the inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, was delivered to Congress and was expected to be released publicly later in the day.

McCabe was fired in March after Attorney General Jeff Sessions rejected an appeal that would have let the 21-year FBI veteran retire just hours before he was eligible for a full government pension.

McCabe