The Justice Department's inspector general has sent a criminal referral to the US attorney's office in Washington, regarding former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, according to reports.
The IG found that McCabe “lacked candor” when discussing his leaking of confidential information to The Wall Street Journal. In FBI language, “lacking candor” translates as “[making] false statements, misrepresentations, the failure to be fully forthright, or the concealment or omission of a material fact/information.”
READ MORE: Former FBI #2 McCabe press leaks ‘violated DOJ policy’ - Inspector General
In October 2016, McCabe authorized the leaking of information to the Wall Street Journal, including the existence of an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation. In his testimony to congress several months earlier, FBI director James Comey had refused to answer whether that investigation even existed.
Another WSJ article that month revealed that McCabe’s wife had taken donations from Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and the Virginia Democratic Party. McAuliffe was described as “an influential Democrat with long-standing ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton,” raising concerns about McCabe’s impartiality in the Clinton investigation.
After leaking information to the press, McCabe attempted to cover his tracks by blaming agents at the New York and Washington DC field offices. McCabe then claimed that Comey had known that he’d authorized the leak, a statement Comey maintains is false.
The IG’s report provided the basis for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire McCabe last month. Following his firing, McCabe set up a GoFundMe page to cover his legal expenses. The campaign raised over $550,000 in a matter of days.