Tipsheet

Andrew McCabe Lied to FBI Agents and Now...He's Sorry? Or Just Trying to Avoid Prison?

In April 2018 the Department of Justice Inspector General issued a scathing report about fired Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe's rampant lack of candor. McCabe lied to FBI agents under oath, multiple times. A reminder of the findings

We found that, in a conversation with then-Director Comey shortly after the WSJ article was published, McCabe lacked candor when he told Comey, or made statements that led Comey to believe, that McCabe had not authorized the disclosure and did not know who did.  This conduct violated FBI Offense Code 2.5 (Lack of Candor – No Oath).

We also found that on May 9, 2017, when questioned under oath by FBI agents from INSD, McCabe lacked candor when he told the agents that he had not authorized the disclosure to the WSJ and did not know who did.  This conduct violated FBI Offense Code 2.6 (Lack of Candor –  Under Oath).

We further found that on July 28, 2017, when questioned under oath by the OIG in a recorded interview, McCabe lacked candor when he stated: (a) that he was not aware of Special Counsel having been authorized to speak to reporters around October 30 and (b) that,  because he was not in Washington, D.C., on October 27 and 28, 2016, he was unable to say where Special Counsel was or what she was doing at that time.  This conduct violated FBI Offense Code 2.6 (Lack of Candor – Under Oath).

We additionally found that on November 29, 2017, when questioned under oath by the OIG in a recorded interview during which he contradicted his prior statements by acknowledging that he had authorized the disclosure to the WSJ, McCabe lacked candor when he: (a) stated that he told Comey on October 31, 2016, that he had authorized the disclosure to the WSJ; (b) denied telling INSD agents on May 9 that he had not authorized the disclosure to the WSJ about the PADAG call; and (c) asserted that INSD’s questioning of him on May 9 about the October 30 WSJ article occurred at the end of an unrelated meeting when one of the INSD agents pulled him aside and asked him one or two questions about the article. This conduct violated FBI Offense Code 2.6 (Lack of Candor –   Under Oath).

Now, after raking in hundreds-of-thousands of dollars through a "Trump fired me, please have pity" GoFund me account, inking a book deal and nabbing a contributorship at CNN, we're learning McCabe issued a private "apology" for his behavior. From the Washington Times

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe admitted he misled investigators about his role in a media leak and apologized for it, according to transcripts of his interviews with investigators released Thursday.

The transcripts were released by the Justice Department’s inspector general in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

An unidentified FBI investigator detailed his frustration with Mr. McCabe over the time he spent investigating the leak, only to discover the leak came from the former deputy director himself, according to the transcripts. Mr. McCabe had repeatedly denied he was the source of the leak, but later confessed and apologized when the investigator confronted him, the transcripts said.

“I remember saying to him, ‘Sir, you understand that we’ve put a lot of work into this based on what you told us,’” the agent said. “I mean, and I even said, long nights and weekends working on this trying to find out who amongst your ranks of trusted people would, would do something like that. And [Mr. McCabe] kind of just looked down, kind of nodded and said, ‘Yeah, I’m sorry.’”

McCabe was referred to Washington D.C. U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu for criminal prosecutor, a consequence his lawyers practically laughed at nearly two years ago. But now, they seem to be taking the prospect more seriously as the office plans to move forward with the case. 

Keep in mind former White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn is awaiting sentencing for...lying to the FBI. George Papadopoulos went to prison for lying to FBI agents. Is justice really blind? We're about to find out.