Acting FBI director Andrew McCabe was on Capitol Hill Thursday nominally to discuss worldwide threats, but that did not stop him from facing questions about reaction within the bureau to the dismissal of James Comey. McCabe said that the vast majority of FBI employees did not lose confidence…
Acting FBI director Andrew McCabe was on Capitol Hill Thursday nominally to discuss worldwide threats, but that did not stop him from facing questions about reaction within the bureau to the dismissal of James Comey. McCabe said that the vast majority of FBI employees did not lose confidence in Comey, undercutting a claim to that effect from the Trump administration.
« Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does to this day, » McCabe told lawmakers during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. « It has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life to work with him. »
President Trump fired Comey on Tuesday, citing the opinion of his Justice Department that Comey had mishandled the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
« We are a large organization. We are 36,500 people across this country, across this globe. We have a diversity of opinions, » McCabe continued. « But I can confidently tell you that the majority, the vast majority of FBI employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey. »
Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told CBS Tuesday that Comey had been fired in part because he lost broad support at the FBI.
« There’s been a long list of reasons that Director Comey isn’t there, » she said. « The biggest reason is really, really simple. He lost the confidence of the rank and file members of the FBI, both members of House and Senate from both parties, and frankly, the American people had lost confidence in his ability to do the job. »
« He politicized the role, » she continued.
