Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe sued the Trump administration for what he calls his “unlawful” termination, arguing that his firing was the result of improper political interference by the president, reports NPR. “It was Trump’s unconstitutional plan and scheme to discredit and remove DOJ and FBI employees who were deemed to be his partisan opponents because they were not politically loyal to him,” the complaint alleges. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions dismissed McCabe in March 2018 shortly before his 50th birthday, when his full law enforcement pension would have vested. McCabe’s filing argues that he is “entitled to his full law enforcement pension and all other benefits, privileges, and rights currently being withheld.”
The Justice Department cited a “lack of candor” in McCabe’s interviews with investigators looking into a media leak in the waning weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the leak about investigations into Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation advanced McCabe’s “personal interests” at the expense of the department’s leadership. McCabe said those allegations were a pretext to get rid of him after months of abuse from President Donald Trump, who had singled him out as a political scapegoat in the 2016 campaign. After McCabe’s dismissal, Trump said it was a “great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI.” To McCabe, his termination had everything to do with his role in protecting the investigation into Russian election interference in 2016. McCabe said he was “singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey,” he said last year. A Washington, D.C., grand jury has considered whether McCabe may have broken any laws. So far no charges have been filed.