Andrew McCabe: I did nothing wrong and was ‘wrongly fired’

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe on Tuesday defended his reputation Tuesday, insisting that he did nothing wrong and his termination for misleading investigators was unjust.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department declined to pursue criminal charges against Mr. McCabe for allegedly lying to investigators about his authorization of media disclosures.

The criminal referral was made by the Justice Department Inspector General, who in 2018 released a report concluding that Mr. McCabe “lacked candor” with investigators.

After the report was released, Mr. McCabe was fired by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Mr. McCabe has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the FBI and Justice Department.

During testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. McCabe was pressed about the inspector general’s findings and his termination.

He repeatedly insisted that he was not involved in any wrongdoing.

“I don’t believe that I committed any crime, I know and I didn’t commit any crime working for the FBI and, yes, I believe that the conclusions in the IG’s report were baseless,” Mr. McCabe said. “I believe it was a flawed, misleading and deeply unfair investigation that led to my unfair termination.”

“I do think I was wrongly fired,” he continued.

Republicans on the panel continued to hammer Mr. McCabe alleging corruption within the FBI.

“You all had a culture of corruption and cover up. This is a sad state of affairs and I’m pleased you are no longer part of the FBI,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican.

Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, pointed to the Justice Department’s prosecution of former national security advisor Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI. He said the fact that Mr. McCabe was not prosecuted for similar allegations created the perception of a double standard.

“General Flynn has been prosecuted for lying to the FBI. You lied to the FBI and you aren’t being prosecuted. Don’t you think that sends the wrong message to the American people?” he asked.

Mr. McCabe fired back, insisting that he never intentionally misled the FBI or the inspector general.

“I was fired as the result of a deeply flawed and unfair IG investigation,” he said.