President Donald Trump attacked former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and former FBI Director James Comey on Friday after the Justice Department released a long-awaited report about McCabe’s conduct.
“He LIED! LIED! LIED! McCabe was totally controlled by Comey,” the president tweeted. “McCabe is Comey!!”
The Justice Department’s watchdog issued a report that said McCabe misled investigators over his role in a news media disclosure.
The finding from the inspector general led FBI disciplinary officials to recommend that McCabe be fired. Attorney General Jeff Sessions then fired McCabe, who had acted as interim FBI director after Trump fired Comey, two days before his retirement. Trump fired Comey in May 2017.
McCabe has disputed the assessment of the watchdog. On Friday, he issued a point-by-point rebuttal to the report, saying that when he believed his answers to the inspector general were misunderstood, he went back and tried to correct them.
McCabe’s lawyer said the inspector general unfairly tried to conclude its work before McCabe could retire. The statement also cited Comey’s “admittedly vague” account of the events at the center of McCabe’s firing.
“Mr. McCabe’s recollection of discussions he had with Director Comey about this issue is extremely clear; Director Comey’s recollection is, by his own acknowledgment, not at all clear,” the lawyer said. “And yet two of the lack of candor allegations are based on Director Comey’s admittedly vague and uncertain recollection of those discussions.”
Trump had already targeted Comey earlier Friday, as details from the former FBI director’s memoir, due out Tuesday, started to make headlines.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
