White House On McCabe Stepping Down: Trump ‘Wasn’t Part Of The Decision’

on January 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. — WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 22: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders calls on reporters during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House January 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. Rep... WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 22: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders calls on reporters during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House January 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. Republican and Democratic senators reached a compromise to end a partial federal government shutdown on Monday, three days after it started. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS

January 29, 2018 2:20 p.m.

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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that the White House was not involved in FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s decision to leave the agency.

“We have seen the numerous reports as you all have seen,” she said during the daily White House briefing. “Any specifics, I can tell you, none of this decision was made by that of the White House. I would refer you to the FBI who I believe will make a statement later today.”

NBC News first reported Monday that McCabe is going on leave from his post at the FBI immediately and is planning to officially retire in mid-March. The news follows reports last week that President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions pressured FBI Director Chris Wray to fire McCabe. Wray threatened to resign if McCabe was fired, prompting Sessions to back off, Axios and The Washington Post reported.

Trump has been publicly pressuring McCabe for months and has claimed that McCabe has an anti-Trump bias. The White House on Monday said Trump “stands by his previous comments” about McCabe, but he “wasn’t part of this decision-making process,” Sanders said.

Press Sec. Sanders says the White House was not involved in FBI Deputy Director McCabe's decision to step down: "The president wasn't part of this decision-making process." pic.twitter.com/6pZIXmTzXW

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 29, 2018

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Nicole Lafond (@Nicole_Lafond) is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

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