FBI agents after McCabe firing: ‘Personnel decisions should never be politicized’

The FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) released a statement Friday night saying that “personnel decisions should never be politicized” after the firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

“Since its founding, the FBIAA has worked in cooperation with the Bureau and with Congress to develop personnel procedures that simultaneously guarantee the professionalism of the FBI and the rights of Special Agents,” President Thomas O’Connor said in the statement.

“While the FBIAA does not comment on personnel matters, the Association remains fully committed to ensuring that every FBIAA member is provided appropriate procedural protections,” he continued. “The FBIAA also strongly believes that personnel decisions should never be politicized.” 

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe on Friday night, saying that McCabe wasn’t forthright with investigators and had made an unauthorized disclosure to the media.

McCabe quickly hit back, saying he was fired as part of an attempt to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference.

McCabe was on leave after having already stepped down from the post amid pressure from Republicans and President Trump, who claimed the former deputy director was biased against him.

This isn’t the first time the FBI Agents Association has spoken out about a move by the Trump administration. The organization voiced support for FBI Director Christopher Wray over the administration’s decision to release a memo alleging surveillance abuses, despite Wray’s objections.

The group also hit Trump over his tweet last year claiming that the FBI’s reputation was “in tatters,” saying that any suggestion that agents aren’t dedicated to their jobs “is simply false.”