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
Translation from the Princess of Lies: Trump fired McCabe out of a cannon, bigly.
Toss this exit on the ever-mounting pile of O-O-J evidence that Team Mueller is collecting. Orange fool would look awfully nice in USDOC orange, IMHO.
I believe that President Trump did not speak with Deputy Director McCabe. If there is any evidence that Donald Trump, while President, has fired anyone while speaking directly to them, in person or on the phone, I have not seen it reported.
Does Vegas have odds yet on how quickly this is proven to be another lie?
Hope Mr. McCabe is planning an opera career, managed by Mueller Productions, Inc.