FBI's Andrew McCabe fired by Sessions: reports

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced late Saturday he fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe effective immediately. 

McCabe, who put in his resignation in January, was fired after the Justice Department rejected an appeal that would have let him retire. 

Sessions, in a statement, said McCabe’s firing was the result of an “extensive and fair” probe of alleged misconduct, which concluded that he had made “an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor − including under oath − on multiple occasions.” 

“The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and accountability,” Sessions said. 

Details of the investigation have yet to be released but are reportedly centered on communications with journalists about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. 

McCabe, who rose through the counter-terrorism and national security ranks, served as the agency’s acting director this summer after Trump fired former director James Comey in May.

He was a frequent target of President Trump, who blamed him for not criminally charging Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server when she was secretary of State.

In an interview, McCabe told the New York Times that his firing was intended to undermine the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. 

He said he’d been fired just days before his retirement benefits would have kicked in and called the move “incredibly unfair to my reputation.” 

“The idea that I was dishonest is just wrong,” he told the Times. “This is part of an effort to discredit me as a witness.”

Kevin Johnson contributed to this report. 

Check back for more details on this breaking news story. 

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