Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said Sunday that former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and others at the bureau should “hang their head in shame” for damaging the organization’s reputation with their actions surrounding the 2016 election.
Kennedy appeared on “Face the Nation” right after McCabe sat for an interview in which he was asked about texts between former FBI officials Lisa Page and Peter Strzok. President Trump and his Republican allies have accused all three former FBI officials of political bias.
{mosads}”Mr. McCabe is one of the people responsible for politicizing the premier law enforcement agency in the history of the world, the FBI,” Kennedy said. “He’s not the only one. But it’s clear that he and others in 2016 — some were for Trump, some were for Clinton — but they acted on their political beliefs, and they hurt the FBI badly for that.”
He added that those involved should “hang their head in shame” and “put their head in a bag.”
Kennedy went on to suggest that McCabe is fortunate he wasn’t prosecuted for perjury. McCabe was fired last year after an internal report found he was not forthcoming with investigators.
McCabe’s attorney told The Associated Press last month that McCabe is still facing a potential criminal investigation. McCabe has denied that he lied to investigators.
“He just got fired,” Kennedy said. “He was lucky.”
McCabe said in his own appearance on “Face the Nation” that he did not know why he was mentioned in a text message exchange in which Page and Strzok were discussing an “insurance policy” in the event that Trump was elected.
McCabe has been a prominent fixture on television news shows in recent weeks in the wake of his new book, “The Threat.” The former FBI official has been an outspoken critic of the president’s consistent barbs toward the FBI and the Department of Justice.