FBI to continue Russia-Trump election probe
WASHINGTON: The acting head of the FBI has said the agency would continue to investigate alleged links between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign – but would not routinely update the White House.
Andrew McCabe, who assumed leadership of the investigative agency following the firing of James Comey, said the ousting of the former director would not impact the probe and had sufficient resources to pursue the investigation.
“The work of the men and women of the FBI continues despite any changes in circumstances,” he said, responding to Florida senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida.
“There has been no effort to impede our investigation. Simply put, you cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing.”
He said he was not aware of reports that Comey had asked for more resources.
“If you are referring to the Russia investigation, I do. I believe we have the adequate resources to do it and I know that we have resourced that investigation adequately,” he said.
Scrambling to defend the firing of Comey, the White House had earlier said the 56-year-old had lost the confidence of the majority of the rank-and-file members of the investigative agency.
With no small irony, it claimed his handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server had rendered his position untenable. In truth, Trump had praised Comey for carrying out the investigation, and on several occasions during the 2016 election campaign said he admired his “guts”. On Wednesday, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Comey had committed “atrocities” during the investigation. “It’s been an erosion of confidence. The Department of Justice lost confidence, bipartisan members of Congress made it clear they had lost confidence.”
McCabe rejected the White House’s claim that Comey had lost the backing of FBI officers.
“Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does. The vast majority of FBI employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to director Comey.
During a Senate hearing, Republican Senator Andrew Burr asked McCabe if he ever heard Comey tell the president he wasn’t the subject of an investigation. McCabe said he “can’t comment on any conversations the director may have had with the president”.
But McCabe did vow to tell the Senate Intelligence Committee if the White House tried to interfere with the bureau’s Russia probe – he asserted there had “been no effort to impede our investigation to date”. – The Independent