Attorneys for Andrew McCabe on Friday demanded to know if a grand jury declined to bring charges against embattled ex-FBI director.
Mr. McCabe’s lawyers write in a letter to Washington’s U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, they’ve heard “rumors from reporters” that a grand jury rejected an indictment.
“We have no independent knowledge of whether the report is accurate but for present purposes we assume the grand jury may have voted a no true bill,” Mr. McCabe’s legal team wrote, citing media reports in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
A “no true bill” is a conclusion by a grand jury that there isn’t sufficient probable cause to charge a defendant.
“The only fair and just result is for you to accept the grand jury’s decision and end these proceedings,” the letter continued.
Media outlets reported Thursday that Mr. McCabe had appealed criminal charges recommended by Ms. Liu. The Justice Department denied his request.
Prosecutors can present a case to a grand jury again, but that requires approval from a U.S. Attorney. Mr. McCabe’s legal team said if Ms. Liu reopens the case, she should submit the supposed findings of the previous grand jury.
Mr. McCabe’s legal team implored Ms. Liu not resubmit the case to a grand jury.
“If the evidence presented by your office was insufficient to convince 12 members of the grand jury to find probable cause to believe that Mr. McCabe had committed any crimes, no attorney can reasonably believe that ’the admissible evidence is sufficient to obtain a guilty verdict by an unbiased trier of fact,” his lawyers wrote.
Mr. McCabe was tied in March 2018 after a Justice Department inspector general report found he mislead investigators about his involvement in a leak to the news media about an FBI probe into the Clinton Foundation.
Mr. McCabe, currently an analyst for CNN, has sued the Justice Department over his firing.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.