It looks like Andrew McCabe has turned the tables on Trump and is going to get the last laugh after all – not once, not twice, but three times.
We learned last week from CNN (or your news outlet of choice) that Attorney General Jeff Sessions “fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe late Friday, less than two days shy of his retirement, ending the career of an official who had risen to serve as second-in-command at the bureau.”
Trump had been gunning for McCabe for several months. The Washington Post reported on Saturday that: “McCabe stepped down from his FBI job in January amid attacks from President Trump, but he had been using up accumulated leave to get to his birthday to receive full retirement benefits — a move Trump attacked him for on Twitter after The Washington Post reported his plans.”
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2017
Sessions ended up firing McCabe about 26 hours before he was due to retire, according to The Washington Post, who added that: “McCabe spent hours at the FBI on Thursday pleading with officials to let him keep his job until he hit full retirement benefits.”
As one might expect, Trump took to his Twitter account to gloat about McCabe’s firing shortly after midnight, Eastern Time.
“Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI – A great day for Democracy” he began before throwing former FBI director James Comey under the bus as well. “Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!”
Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI – A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018
Trump continued his Twitterstorm throughout the weekend, lashing out at McCabe several times along with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, Hillary Clinton and others…
ROUND ONE
However, with the help of some Democratic lawmakers, it appears that McCabe is going to end up getting the last laugh after all.
Media outlets reported over the weekend that several Democratic lawmakers were plotting the perfect revenge – offering McCabe a job so that he could keep his retirement and full benefits intact.
As Huffington Post reported: “Democrats in Congress may have found a way to save former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s government pension, despite Attorney General Jeff Sessions firing him two days before he could qualify for it.”
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) on Saturday extended a federal job offer to McCabe, who has worked for the FBI for 21 years. Pocan wants McCabe to work with his office on election security.
Should McCabe accept the offer, Pocan said in a statement, it would allow the former FBI official to reach the length of service he needs to retire and collect his pension, estimated at $60,000 a year.
“Other congress members have followed suit” such as “Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) offered McCabe a position in his office as special senior staff attorney assisting the House Judiciary Committee, while Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) told McCabe to call him on Monday for a federal job.”
Andrew McCabe: I have the need to hire a Special Senior Staff Attorney to help me with my work on the House Judiciary Committee dealing with threats to the Constitution and the rule of law in America. You're perfect for the job. DM me.
— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) March 17, 2018
To Andrew McCabe: If you need a federal job, call me on Monday. I am serious. We have to stand up to bullies like @realDonaldTrump & @jeffsessions @USAGSessions #Resist #twill #AndrewMcCabeFired #standuptobullies #chicago @Comey
— Luis V. Gutierrez (@RepGutierrez) March 17, 2018
Huffington Post added that: “Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) also told the Boston Globe he’d consider hiring the former FBI official.”
The Washington Post reported that those federal job offers would likely succeed in saving McCabe’s retirement, that “at least one former federal official with knowledge of retirement rules says it probably would.”
McCabe’s team is confident that he had at least 20 years of law enforcement work under his belt — defined as carrying a weapon or supervising people who do — which made him eligible to retire on his 50th birthday on Sunday, with full retirement benefits.
With those 20 years, he would need to just go to work with the federal government for another day or so in any job he pleases, whether that’s as a election security analyst for a Wisconsin congressman or a typist for a day, to get full benefits, said the former official who spoke to The Fix. The job doesn’t matter so much as the fact that he’s working within the federal government with the same retirement benefits until or after his 50th birthday. (Though this former official stressed that it would probably look more ethical if McCabe worked for at least a pay period rather than just one day.)
ROUND TWO
McCabe could also get the last laugh because he might end up being instrumental in taking down the Trump regime moving forward by making the case that his termination was another example of Trump attempting to obstruct justice.
As CNN reported, “In a blistering statement Friday night, McCabe said his firing is part of a larger effort to discredit the FBI and the special counsel’s investigation.”
“This attack on my credibility is one part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally, but to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals more generally,” McCabe said, adding: “It is part of this Administration’s ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the Special Counsel investigation, which continue to this day. Their persistence in this campaign only highlights the importance of the Special Counsel’s work.”
ROUND THREE
And here the final punch: as The Wall Street Journal reported, McCabe kept detailed notes regarding all his conversations with Trump and turned them over to Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe wrote memos describing his conversations with President Donald Trump and other events and has turned them over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a person close to Mr. McCabe said Saturday.
The memos, written soon after the events they describe, cover Mr. McCabe’s dealings with the White House and what former FBI Director James Comey told Mr. McCabe about his interactions, according to the person.
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