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Are Federal Prosecutors Nearing Decision On Andrew McCabe Indictment?


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Federal prosecutors may be just around the corner from reaching a decision on whether or not to indict former FBI Director Andrew McCabe on charges of lying to agents.

According to observers in Washington, there are numerous signs that prosecutors are in the final stage of determining whether McCabe should be indicted, including that his lawyers have met with key figures involved in the determination of the conclusion.

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This news comes just days after Andrew McCabe was hired by CNN as a news contributor, despite his disreputable background.

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The New York Times has more in-depth info on why it appears that the Andrew McCabe decision is fast approaching:

Federal prosecutors in Washington appear to be in the final stages of deciding whether to seek an indictment of Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy F.B.I. director and a frequent target of President Trump, on charges of lying to federal agents, according to interviews with people familiar with recent developments in the investigation.

In two meetings last week, Mr. McCabe’s lawyers met with the deputy attorney general, Jeffrey A. Rosen, who is expected to be involved in the decision about whether to prosecute, and for more than an hour with the United States attorney for the District of Columbia, Jessie K. Liu, according to a person familiar with the meetings. The person would not detail the discussions, but defense lawyers typically meet with top law enforcement officials to try to persuade them not to indict their client if they failed to get line prosecutors to drop the case.

An indictment of a former top F.B.I. official is extremely rare and would be the latest chapter in the saga of Mr. McCabe, who was fired last year over the issue now under criminal investigation — whether he failed to be forthcoming with internal investigators examining the F.B.I.’s dealings with the news media.

An indictment would be certain to draw praise from Mr. Trump, who has made his attacks on Mr. McCabe a centerpiece of his yearslong campaign to discredit the Justice Department and the F.B.I. over the Russia investigation.

But prosecutors may face headwinds if a case were to go to trial. One prosecutor quit the case and has expressed frustration with how it was being managed, according to person familiar with her departure, and a key witness provided testimony to the grand jury that could hurt the government’s case.

Additionally, Washington juries are typically liberal, and prosecutors could end up with jurors sympathetic to Mr. McCabe who believe that he, not the president, is the victim of a political witch hunt. Mr. McCabe’s lawyers would probably emphasize his long history at the F.B.I. and his role protecting the country.

Though the meetings between Mr. McCabe’s lawyers and top law enforcement officials suggest that prosecutors seem intent on moving forward with the case, they could also decide to pass on an indictment. Spokeswomen for the Justice Department, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and for Mr. McCabe all declined to comment.

Mr. McCabe, a 21-year F.B.I. veteran, was fired in March 2018 after Attorney General Jeff Sessions rejected an appeal that would have let him retire within days with a full pension. Mr. McCabe has said his dismissal was politically motivated and meant to undermine the special counsel’s Russia investigation by trying to discredit him as a witness.

The Washington Post also said:

The legal team for Andrew McCabe met last week with the No. 2 official at the Justice Department and the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a person familiar with the matter said, suggesting that a decision could be close on whether the FBI’s former acting director will face criminal charges on allegations that he lied to investigators.

 

McCabe’s team met for more than an hourwith U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and, separately, with Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen, the person said. Meetings with such high-level law enforcement officials typically come near the end of criminal investigations, affording defense attorneys a chance to make their last pitch on why their client should not be charged.

 

Spokesmen for McCabe and the Justice Department declined to comment. The person familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The development was first reported Monday by the New York Times.

 

Federal prosecutors have been weighing for well over a year whether to charge McCabe, after the Justice Department’s inspector general alleged that McCabe had misled investigators several times about a media disclosure regarding the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s family foundation.



 

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