The Justice Department’s inspector general office has referred former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to a federal prosecutor for possible criminal charges.
The IG found McCabe repeatedly leaked to the press and lied about it to federal investigators and to former FBI Director James Comey, detailing the findings in a report released last week. The findings of the investigation prompted by one of McCabe’s leaks led Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire him on March 16, just days before he would have retired with full benefits.
McCabe and his allies have insisted the firing was politically motivated, but the report released by the IG showed the move was with cause. In interviews with the press regarding his new memoir, Comey has since confirmed McCabe lied.
The IG has sent a criminal referral of McCabe to the U.S. Attorney in Washington DC, who is now tasked with deciding whether to prosecute McCabe for his actions. Nearly a dozen Republican representatives sent a criminal referral of McCabe to the Justice Department and FBI on Wednesday, along with referrals for Comey, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Hillary Clinton.
Internal review found McCabe to have leaked a self-serving story to The Wall Street Journal about an ongoing investigation into the Clinton Foundation, in order to defend himself from accusations he shut it down prematurely. He then told Comey, investigators say, he did not authorize the leak and did not know who did. That spurred an investigation into the leak, which resulted in his firing.
The Justice Department, U.S. attorney’s office, and McCabe declined to comment to the press Thursday.
