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Andrew McCabe lashes out in the pages of the Washington Post — and responds to the way he was fired
Andrew McCabe responds to his firing in the pages of the Washington Post, denies "lack of candor." (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Andrew McCabe lashes out in the pages of the Washington Post — and responds to the way he was fired

Andrew McCabe was fired from his post as deputy FBI director late last Friday upon recommendation from the FBI's Office of Personal Responsibility just two days before his planned retirement.

He responded to his dismissal and the way it was done in a op-ed for the Washington Post on Friday.

What did McCabe say?

First, the former number two man at the bureau said he learned he had been fired from a friend who called him. According to McCabe, the friend only learned about it from CNN. Shortly afterward, he received an email confirming his termination.

"So, after two decades of public service, I found out that I had been fired in the most disembodied, impersonal way — third-hand, based on a news account," McCabe wrote.

In the immediate aftermath of his termination, many said the sin that ultimately cost the career FBI man his job was his "lack of candor." One former FBI agent told Fox News shortly after McCabe's dismissal that "lack of candor" is the number one reason people get fired at the FBI, which is why McCabe's termination was justified.

Indeed, the FBI's OPR recommended McCabe's firing because he allegedly lied to internal DOJ investigators about authorizing a leak to the Wall Street Journal in Oct. 2016.

But McCabe refuted allegations that he either lied or lacked candor in his senior leadership position. He wrote:

That is not true. I did not knowingly mislead or lie to investigators. When asked about contacts with a reporter that were fully within my power to authorize as deputy director, and amid the chaos that surrounded me, I answered questions as completely and accurately as I could. And when I realized that some of my answers were not fully accurate or may have been misunderstood, I took the initiative to correct them. At worst, I was not clear in my responses, and because of what was going on around me may well have been confused and distracted — and for that I take full responsibility. But that is not a lack of candor. And under no circumstances could it ever serve as the basis for the very public and extended humiliation of my family and me that the administration, and the president personally, have engaged in over the past year.

McCabe also responded to President Donald Trump's tweet last Saturday morning addressing his dismissal. Trump said it was a "great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI — A great day for Democracy."

"I was sad, but not surprised, to see that such unhinged public attacks on me would continue into my life after my service to the FBI," McCabe wrote.

He added: "President Trump’s cruelty reminded me of the days immediately following the firing of James B. Comey, as the White House desperately tried to push the falsehood that people in the FBI were celebrating the loss of our director. The president’s comments about me were equally hurtful and false, which shows that he has no idea how FBI people feel about their leaders."

In the end, McCabe reiterated his belief that America needs a law enforcement institution like the FBI and encouraged those aspiring to join the bureau to not be dissuaded from joining over the very political situation unfolding in Washington.

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