IN THE CLEAR

Justice Department Won’t Charge Former FBI Official Andrew McCabe in Lying Case

McCabe is out of legal jeopardy almost two years after an Inspector General’s report found he lacked candor when discussing FBI leaks.

The Justice Department has told lawyers for former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe that they will not charge him with a crime, according to his spokesperson. 

“At long last, justice has been done in this matter,” his lawyers said in a statement. 

Justice Department officials told them in a letter and in a phone call that they would not pursue charges against him, the statement said. The Daily Beast reviewed a copy of the letter, which appears to be definitive. 

“Based on the totality of the circumstances and all of the information known to the Government at this time, we consider this matter closed,” wrote J.P. Cooney, chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section in the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Molly Gaston, an assistant U.S. attorney in that section. 

The news comes as President Donald Trump has reportedly urged the Justice Department to prosecute people he sees as his political foes. In a tweet last year, he accused McCabe of treason.  

The Justice Department’s Inspector General released a report two years ago saying McCabe lacked candor when he spoke to them about leaks that came out of the FBI. McCabe and his lawyers vehemently disputed some of the report’s conclusions. Despite that, the Inspector General referred McCabe to the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office for potential charges. Today, nearly two years after the report came out, the DOJ has made clear that he’s out of legal jeopardy.

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Betsy SwanFormer Political Reporter

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