EXCLUSIVE: Fired FBI official authorized criminal probe of Sessions, sources say

[fleur-de-lisa]

Source: ABC News

Nearly a year before Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired senior FBI official Andrew McCabe for what Sessions called a "lack of candor," McCabe oversaw a federal criminal investigation into whether Sessions lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly accused Sessions of misleading them in congressional testimony and called on federal authorities to investigate, but McCabe's previously-unreported decision to actually put the attorney general in the crosshairs of an FBI probe was an exceptional move.

One source told ABC News that Sessions was not aware of the investigation when he decided to fire McCabe last Friday less than 48 hours before McCabe, a former FBI deputy director, was due to retire from government and obtain a full pension, but an attorney representing Sessions declined to confirm that.

Last year, several top Republican and Democratic lawmakers were informed of the probe during a closed-door briefing with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and McCabe, ABC News was told.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/exclusive-fired-fbi-official-authorized-criminal-probe-sessions/story?id=53914006

[MelissaB]

1. K&R

Just reading this now.

[iluvtennis]

2. That's the way FBI investigations are supposed to be done...u know nothing about it until it's done

[MelissaB]

3. We can thank Al Franken AGAIN!!!!

According to the sources, McCabe authorized the criminal inquiry after a top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and then-Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., wrote a letter in March 2017 to the FBI urging agents to investigate "all contacts" Sessions may have had with Russians, and "whether any laws were broken in the course of those contacts or in any subsequent discussion of whether they occurred."

[MBS]

9. + 1000 n/t

[earthshine]

14. Franken for president in 2020. nt

[getagrip_already]

4. from the gop's mouth to trumps ear.......

Nothing those jamokes learned was kept back.

Of course they knew.

[MontanaMama]

5. Obstruction.

And this is a dandy obstruction at that.

[Leghorn21]

6. A lot of *probing* going on today - and yep, I am LOVIN IT!! nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Obstruction of Justice. Very self-serving obstruction of justice. Intimidating a witness at least.

More precisely: attempting to intimidate a witness (McCabe who is made of strong stuff) and firing a warning shot at other potential witnesses.

The warning is (as if they were stating it): Mess with us and we will be so vindictive and over-the-top like we did to screw McCabe out of a huge retirement benefit at the last minute.

Do not forget that tRump is vindictive to the point of madness. Trump is on record saying that if anyone hits at him he hits back five or ten times harder. On record more than once.

[ffr]

11. +1 right down the line.

Lock Sessions up!

[red dog 1]

12. + 2

"Vengeance is mine, sayeth the child-rapist"

[Leghorn21]

8. A tweeter calls it:

Link to tweet

?s=20

[fleur-de-lisa]

10. Oh, the irony!

[pangaia]

17. I can't even wrap my brain around that one.

[flibbitygiblets]

30. I know, it's like a snake eating it's own tail.

I can't take this shit.

[red dog 1]

13. K&R...Thanks for posting

[wishstar]

15. Hard to believe Sessions did not know if Repub lawmakers were informed Sessions was being probed

So Sessions had conflicts of interest regarding firing McCabe with Clinton, Trump and now we find out Sessions' probes.

[bucolic_frolic]

16. Bases loaded ...

grand slam swing ....

[Maeve]

18. Another reason why Sessions should NOT have fired McCabe

Besides the whole recusal for issues involving Hillary, or recusal for matters relating to Russian interferance or recusal for matters involving the 2016 campaign...if you believe he didn't know about this in Leaking Sieve, DC, you might be interested in a bridge I have for sale.

[still_one]

19. I am sure McCabe's firing had nothing to do with retirbution...........

[flibbitygiblets]

31. Hey, I think you just coined a phrase! "Retire-bution": screwing someone out of a pension

solely for the purpose of revenge. Brilliant!

[still_one]

32. .......................................................

[SunSeeker]

20. K & R for exposure.

[LiberalLovinLug]

21. I knew there was some kind of selfish reason that sleezy elf refuses to step down

That he takes all of Trumps insults and stays on. Its to oversee and fire anyone that dares to challenge his own personal behaviour. He may be a Trump humper, but he, like all Republicans, values his own hide more than anyone else.

[Pepsidog]

22. What is status of investigation of Sessions?

[Mountain Mule]

23. K&R! nt

[UpInArms]

24. Thanks for posting ... good information

Keeping this at the top

[Bayard]

25. Well, that explains a lot

[world wide wally]

26. The absolutely, positively, without a doubt most corrupt administration in our history.

Love coming THEM ALL up!

[Mr. Sparkle]

27. If Republican lawbreakers knew, than off course Seassions knew.

They leak like a sieve.

[raven mad]

28. "everybody lies but it doesn't matter, cuz nobody listens" -

I think that was Abby Hoffman in 1968 or so........

[riversedge]

29. NYT: F.B.I. Investigated Sessions for Possible Perjury Over Russia Denials

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/us/politics/sessions-fbi-investigation-perjury.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

............................
nytimes.com

F.B.I. Investigated Sessions for Possible Perjury Over Russia Denials
Adam Goldman, Katie Benner and Matt Apuzzo
7-8 minutes


Andrew G. McCabe, the former F.B.I. deputy director, right, authorized an investigation into possible perjury over congressional statements by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA, via Shutterstock

WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. investigated Attorney General Jeff Sessions for possible perjury last year over congressional testimony in which he said he had no contacts with Russians, according to three people familiar with the case.

In fact, Mr. Sessions later acknowledged, he had personally met the Russian ambassador to the United States during the campaign and was aware that George Papadopoulos, a campaign adviser, had developed Russian ties, too. F.B.I. agents were aware of both inaccuracies in real time. And last March, when Congress asked the F.B.I. to investigate the attorney general, agents began doing so, two of the people said.

Andrew G. McCabe, the F.B.I.’s deputy director at the time, authorized the investigation, the two people said. Mr. McCabe himself was recently fired for showing “lack of candor” in an internal investigation. Mr. Sessions rejected Mr. McCabe’s appeal and fired him hours before his retirement was to take effect, jeopardizing his pension.

The investigation into Mr. Sessions began before Robert S. Mueller III was appointed special counsel to investigate Russia-related matters. Mr. Sessions’s lawyer, Chuck Cooper, said no investigation is being conducted now.

“The special counsel’s office has informed me that after interviewing the attorney general and conducting additional investigation, the attorney general is not under investigation for false statements or perjury in his confirmation hearing testimony and related written submissions to Congress,” Mr. Cooper said in a statement.

The investigation was first reported by ABC News.

Perjury investigations based on congressional referrals are common, and the F.B.I. frequently investigates but seldom charges. But the fact that the attorney general himself was a focus of the Russia investigation, even if only peripherally and temporarily, shows how entangled the Trump administration has become in the case. Mr. Sessions is recused from any aspect of the investigation.