Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) called the firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe a “cruel and sadistic” act that is part of a conspiracy to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
“McCabe’s firing two days before his retirement is a cruel and sadistic act against a dedicated FBI official whose only fault is that he wouldn’t compromise an investigation of Russian interference and influence,” Connolly tweeted on Saturday. “This is part of a conspiracy to undermine special counsel Mueller.”
{mosads} Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe on Friday, just days before his scheduled retirement after more than 20 years at the Bureau.
McCabe responded to the announcement by saying he was fired as part of an attempt to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference.
“The idea that I was dishonest is just wrong,” McCabe told The New York Times. “This is part of an effort to discredit me as a witness.”
Connolly said earlier this month that it was “deeply troubling” how President Trump was asking his aides about their interviews with Mueller.
“That report is deeply troubling. The president knows there’s an ongoing investigation by a special counsel. It is completely improper for him to interrogate witnesses after they have provided testimony to the special counsel,” Connolly told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Other Democrats echoed Connolly’s stance, with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) saying on Friday that the Trump administration is punishing people involved in the investigation to Trump’s ties with Russia, saying that’s “how guilty people act.”
McCabe’s former boss, former FBI Director James Comey, was fired by Trump last year and wrote on Saturday that the American people can “judge for themselves who is honorable and who is not.”
The FBI Agents Association condemned Trump’s decision, saying personnel decisions should never be politicized.