Trump attacks FBI as lawyer calls for end to Russia probe
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump slammed the FBI as he hailed the firing of a veteran bureau agent as a “great day for democracy”, a move his attorney said he hoped would end a probe into alleged collusion between the president’s campaign and Russia.
Critics described the axing of Andrew McCabe, the deputy of former FBI director James Comey, as a “dangerous” ploy to discredit the top US law enforcement agency as well as the work of Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian influence in the 2016 election.
Mr McCabe is a potential key witness in the Russia probe.
Mr Trump on Saturday via Twitter blasted the alleged “tremendous leaking, lying and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, Justice & State”.
He also reiterated long-running criticism of the Mueller investigation, terming it a “witch hunt” and saying that it “should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime”.
Earlier, Mr Trump’s personal attorney, John Dowd, told The Daily Beast he hoped Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would follow the lead of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and “bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier”.
Mr Dowd told The Daily Beast he was speaking for the president. But in a subsequent statement he said he had been “speaking for myself, not the president”.
Mr McCabe, who has endured a year of withering attacks from Mr Trump, was fired by the Justice Department late on Friday, just two days before he was to retire after 21 years with the FBI.
Critics say the firing is a step in Mr Trump’s plan to engineer Mr Mueller’s dismissal, potentially sparking a constitutional crisis.
Mr Mueller is also examining whether Mr Trump might have obstructed justice, including by firing Mr Comey last May.
One Democratic lawmaker, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, announced on Saturday that he offered Mr McCabe a job in his office so he can complete the time necessary to retire with full federal benefits.
“My offer of employment to Mr McCabe is a legitimate offer to work on election security,” Mr Pocan said in a statement.
Mr McCabe’s spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz was non-committal. “We are considering all options,” she told the Washington Post.
“Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI — A great day for Democracy,” Mr Trump tweeted soon after the firing.
Mr McCabe denied any impropriety and said he was the victim of a Trump administration “war” against the FBI and the special counsel.
Mr McCabe kept memos of his interactions with Mr Trump, US media reported on Saturday, adding that the documents could bolster his version of events.
Mr Comey pushed back as well. “Mr President, the American people will hear my story very soon. And they can judge for themselves who is honorable and who is not,” he tweeted.
The Justice Department said an internal investigation had found that Mr McCabe made unauthorised disclosures to the media, and had not been fully honest “on multiple occasions”.