CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE STATEMENT ON THE FIRING OF FORMER DEPUTY FBI DIRECTOR ANDREW MCCABE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                Contact: Robin Chand

March 19, 2018                                                           202-225-3816

Press Statement

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Statement On the Firing of Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe

Jackson Lee: “The circumstances around the termination of Andrew McCabe, former Deputy Director of the FBI, are troubling to say the least.  This action is no coincidence, and appears part of a larger pattern to discredit or interfere with potential witnesses in the Mueller Probe, and part of a larger pattern to obstruct justice.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations released the following statement on the firing of Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.

“Mr. McCabe was a member of the FBI for over two decades.  During his service to the Bureau, he worked as a street agent, and eventually a supervisor of the New York field office.  I would note that he has considerable experience investigating Russian organized crime in the United States, was a former SWAT team member, and worked on the investigation following the Boston Marathon Bombing. 

“Following the termination of James Comey, Mr. McCabe became the focus of relentless public ridicule by the president, presumably because at a May 2017 hearing of the House Intelligence Committee, Mr. McCabe indicated that he would corroborate Mr. Comey’s accounts of conversations Mr. Comey had with the President. 

“Mr. McCabe’s role in the 2016 presidential election has been the focus of an investigation by the Inspector General of the DOJ.  Before the report was made public, and after Mr. McCabe agreed to retire his commission in order to preserve his pension, the attorney general terminated Mr. McCabe.  The circumstances around the termination of Andrew McCabe, former Deputy Director of the FBI, are troubling to say the least.  This action is no coincidence, and appears part of a larger pattern to discredit or interfere with potential witnesses in the Mueller Probe, and part of a larger pattern to obstruct justice. 

“In my capacity as a Senior Member of both the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, I have had occasion to observe Mr. McCabe and assess his truthfulness, including in closed-door fora.   While we may not always see eye-to-eye on all issues, Mr. McCabe struck me as a model of probity, and the circumstances surrounding his termination are suspicious and warrant further inquiry.  This incident, like many of the developments in this investigation, merit investigation by the House Judiciary Committee. 

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Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is a Democrat from Texas’s 18th Congressional District. She is a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security and is a Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations.