The former FBI deputy director has accused Donald Trump of ousting him to undermine the Russian election meddling investigation after he was sacked just a day before retiring.
Andrew McCabe, a long-time hate figure for the president, was due to retire on Sunday but was instead fired late on Friday, throwing his pension into jeopardy.
Mr McCabe had triggered Mr Trump’s ire because his wife ran for office as a Democrat and he handled controversial investigation into the Hillary Clinton email scandal.
However he could also prove a key witness in the any obstruction of justice case brought against Mr Trump, potentially backing up claims from James Comey, the former FBI director.
In an explosive 800-word statement released after his sacking, Mr McCabe pointed the finger at the president as he broke his silence.
How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin’ James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation (including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wife’s campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2017
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2017
"For the last year and a half, my family and I have been the targets of an unrelenting assault on our reputation and my service to this country,” Mr McCabe said.
He added: “The President’s tweets have amplified and exacerbated it all. He called for my firing. He called for me to be stripped of my pension after more than 20 years of service.
“And all along we have said nothing, never wanting to distract from the mission of the FBI by addressing the lies told and repeated about us. No more.”
Mr McCabe said he had been “singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey”.
Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI – A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018
The departure of Mr Comey, who was leading the Russia investigation before he was fired by Mr Trump, is a key event being looked at by special counsel Robert Mueller.
John Dowd, Mr Trump’s personal lawyer, called for the Russian investigation led by Mr Mueller to be shut down after Mr McCabe’s sacking.
Mr Dowd said he would "pray" for the US justice department to "bring an end to [the] alleged Russia collusion investigation", according to the website Daily Beast.
However the White House distanced itself from the comments, insisting Mr Dowd was speaking in a personal capacity.
In the absence of the IG report, it’s impossible to evaluate the merits of this harsh treatment of a 21-year FBI professional. That it comes after the President urged the DOJ to deprive McCabe of his pension, and after his testimony, gives the action an odious taint. https://t.co/rpZqqxFp4u
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) March 17, 2018
Jeff Sessions, the US attorney general who did the sacking, said Mr McCabe had “made an unauthorised disclosure to the news media and lacked candor – including under oath – on multiple occasions”.
Internal reports critical of some of Mr McCabe’s past work were expected soon. However the decision to sack him a little more than 24 hours before he was retiring – possibly meaning he will lose much of his pension – was seen as vindictive by some.
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Mr Trump, who had previously indicated on Twitter he wanted Mr McCabe sacked, said it was “a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI … [and] democracy”.
He added that Mr McCabe was a “choirboy” compared to the “sanctimonious James Comey”, whose tell-all book will be published next month.
John Brennan, who was CIA director until January 2017, responded to Mr Trump on Twitter:
When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but you will not destroy America…America will triumph over you. https://t.co/uKppoDbduj
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) March 17, 2018