John -

CREW’s investigation into retaliation against government officials just uncovered new FBI records about former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s termination.

In March 2018, McCabe was fired by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions—just hours before he was supposed to retire. While the DOJ said he was fired over a leak investigation, President Trump had been criticizing McCabe for months as part of his effort to discredit the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. CREW immediately filed a Freedom of Information Act request to shed light on whether Trump urged his firing, and whether it was politically motivated.

A year and a half later, we have new information indicating that by firing McCabe with such little notice and limited time for his lawyers to dispute the decision, the DOJ may not have followed FBI regulations. Read more on the CREW blog.

We had to sue for records, but we finally have some clarity on the rushed and questionable nature of McCabe’s termination. Our concerns that Trump or Sessions may have been retaliating against a government official without following agency rules seem to be validated. We expect to obtain additional documents that could shed further light on the details surrounding McCabe’s termination and the motivation behind it.

With issues about President Trump’s conduct increasingly being raised by government staff like the Ukraine whistleblower, the matter of retaliation against those who hold Trump to account is not a settled one.

As we saw with Andrew McCabe, the Trump administration has not been shy about shattering norms, or stooping to new lows to punish their perceived detractors. It is important for outside watchdogs like CREW to respond when members of the government who raise concerns are fired or criticized in ways that seem unfair or potentially retaliatory.

Thank you for standing with us in the fight for accountability,

Anne Weismann
Chief FOIA Counsel, CREW