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CNN Contributor Andrew McCabe Loses Effort to Avoid Criminal Charges

McCabe was hired by CNN after filing a lawsuit claiming he was wrongfully terminated by the DOJ

Andrew McCabe
Andrew McCabe / Getty Images
September 12, 2019

Federal prosecutors rejected an appeal Thursday from former FBI deputy director and current CNN contributor Andrew McCabe asking that they set aside their recommendation that he be brought up on criminal charges.

A 2018 Department of Justice inspector general report found that McCabe improperly released details of the Clinton Foundation investigation to reporters, and "lacked candor" when asked about it by internal investigators on four separate occasions. The FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility recommended that the future CNN employee be fired, a recommendation then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions acted upon just short of McCabe's planned retirement.

McCabe's case was referred to United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie Liu for possible criminal charges shortly thereafter. According to reporting from CNN, McCabe's current employer, Liu recommended a month ago that he be charged with lying to federal agents. McCabe's attorneys appealed that decision but were informed in a letter Thursday that their appeal has been rejected.

The decision comes after McCabe filed a lawsuit in August claiming that he was wrongfully terminated by the Department of Justice and that his firing was the result of political meddling by the Trump administration.

"It was Trump's unconstitutional plan and scheme to discredit and remove DOJ and FBI employees who were deemed to be his partisan opponents because they were not politically loyal to him," McCabe complained.

Despite that conflict of interest and the finding that he had lied in a professional setting, McCabe was hired by CNN a week later. A week into his CNN tenure, the New York Times first reported that federal prosecutors were nearing a decision about whether to charge the newly-minted contributor.

It remains to be seen whether the CNN contributor will still headline a Democratic fundraiser in Pennsylvania next week, and whether the donors who have already shelled out their $80-$160 will still have a chance for a photo-op with the CNN employee.