The Atlantic

McCabe’s Firing Chips Away at the Justice Department’s Independence

Shortly after he was dismissed Friday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the former FBI deputy director pinned the blame directly on President Trump.
Source: Alex Brandon / AP

Updated at 10:50 a.m. ET on March 17

Andrew McCabe, a former acting and deputy FBI director who had drawn the ire of President Trump, was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions late Friday evening, a decision that raises troubling questions about the independence of both the Justice Department and the FBI.

Trump and his associates are a focus of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and McCabe’s firing could send the message to federal law-enforcement officials that they risk their jobs and reputations if they displease the president.

In his first public comments on the matter, just after midnight, Trump effusively praised McCabe’s dismissal:

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