Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is facing a possible firing days ahead of his scheduled retirement, according to a new report.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is looking at a recommendation to fire McCabe, people briefed on the matter told The New York Times for a report published Wednesday.
The recommendation comes amid an internal review looking into a choice McCabe made in 2016 to allow agency officials to speak with reporters about a Clinton Foundation investigation.
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According to the Times, a report from the Justice Department’s inspector general regarding the internal review triggered an FBI disciplinary process that recommended McCabe’s firing. Sessions now has to decide whether to accept the recommendation, according to the Times.
McCabe’s retirement is set to go into effect Sunday and his firing could jeopardize his pension as a 21-year veteran of the bureau, according to the report.
A spokeswoman for the Justice Department told the Times that the department “follows a prescribed process by which an employee may be terminated.”
“That process includes recommendations from career employees, and no termination decision is final until the conclusion of that process. We have no personnel announcements at this time,” spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said.
McCabe stepped down from his position and took a leave of absence earlier this year after facing pressure from Republicans and President Trump.
GOP members tied to Trump had accused McCabe of bias in his handling of the Clinton email probe, and Trump had also openly attacked the top FBI official.
The Times reported earlier this month that the inspector general’s report was expected to criticize McCabe for allowing agency officials to provide information about an ongoing investigation to the media.
McCabe reportedly authorized FBI officials to provide information to The Wall Street Journal in its investigation into how the agency handled the probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of State.
The deputy director reportedly allowed officials to discuss a meeting detailed in an October 2016 Journal report, during which some top Department of Justice officials reportedly decided against authorizing a grand jury or subpoenas in the Clinton investigation.