Former FBI Director James Comey (prior to his ousting) famously penned a memo about how President Trump pressured him to kill the investigation into then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s ties with Russia. Comey later testified (to the Senate Intelligence Committee) that he leaked his own memos in an effort to get a special counsel appointed on Russia. That worked, but Trump may be up to his not-so-old tricks again because current FBI Director Christopher Wray has apparently received some unsavory pressure from the executive branch as well.
Axios reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been pushing Wray to fire Deputy Director Andrew McCable, and this happened at the behest of Trump. In turn, Wray threatened to resign over the pressure, Sessions turned to White House Counsel Don McGahn over Wray’s discomfort, and McGahn advised him to drop the matter. In other words, McGahn knew that losing another FBI director, especially under sketchy circumstances, wouldn’t go over well.
So, what issue would Trump take with McCabe? He’s probably still sore over McCabe contradicting his tweet-claim that Comey had “lost the confidence of almost everyone” in the bureau. In 2017, Trump also slammed McCabe on Twitter while claiming that he was part of “the swamp” and decided not to file criminal charges over Hillary Clinton’s emails for political reasons.
Overall, the notion that Trump is reportedly still trying to exert pressure over the FBI is unsettling, to say the least. During Comey’s Senate testimony, he spoke of attempting “to explain to him why the FBI should be apart” from the executive branch, yet Trump insisted upon “blurring those boundaries.” What a mess.
(Via Axios)