Comey Praises McCabe After News He’s Leaving The FBI: He’s ‘Stood Tall’

WASHINGTON, USA - JUNE 08: Former FBI Director James Comey testifies during a US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, United States on June 08, 2017. (Photo by Samuel Corum/A... WASHINGTON, USA - JUNE 08: Former FBI Director James Comey testifies during a US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, United States on June 08, 2017. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Following the news Monday that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe would leave the bureau, former FBI Director James Comey offered kind words for his former colleague on Twitter.

Comey wrote in a tweet that McCabe “stood tall” at the FBI when “small people were trying to tear down” the bureau.

Both Comey and McCabe are now part of a club of FBI officials forced out of the bureau under the Trump administration. Trump fired Comey over the Russsia investigation, as the President himself admitted.

The exact circumstances around McCabe’s firing are less clear cut, but the former FBI deputy director likely felt pressure to leave, even if the ultimate decision to leave was not his alone.

He was the subject of a months-long campaign by Trump to undermine his credibility and paint him as someone loyal to Democrats. Trump has mentioned publicly several times that McCabe’s wife received a campaign contribution from a committee affiliated with former Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, an ally of Hillary Clinton. The White House also reportedly pressured new FBI Director Christopher Wray to fire McCabe.

The New York Times reported Monday that McCabe told friends he resigned on Monday because he felt pressure from Wray to leave. Both the Times and CNN reported that Wray told McCabe he would be bringing on a new team to lead the FBI and that McCabe could decide whether or not to remain in a different position.

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