Andrew McCabe became the acting director of the FBI on Tuesday when President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirmed McCabe’s promotion in an internal memo to the FBI. CNN obtained the document.
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, left, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, listen during a news conference, Wednesday, July 20, 2016, at the Justice Department in Washington. McCabe is now the acting director of the FBI.
Jacquelyn Martin
AP
WASHINGTON
May 10, 2017 ">
McCabe, 49, took over as deputy director on Feb. 1, 2016, having been promoted from associate deputy director. He joined the FBI in 1996 working in the New York field office and focusing on organized crime. Comey made the appointment. As deputy director, McCabe oversaw all FBI domestic and international investigative and intelligence activities.
“Andy’s 19 years of experience, combined with his vision, judgment, and ability to communicate make him a perfect fit for the job,” Comey said in the release announcing McCabe’s appointment.
McCabe, who graduated from Duke University and earned a law degree from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, worked as a lawyer before joining the FBI, according to his biography for The Cambridge Cyber Summit.
McCabe’s wife, Jill, ran for state Senate in Northern Virginia as a Democrat. She lost her election bid. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is close to Bill and Hillary Clinton, gave McCabe’s campaign $467,500 from his political action committee. The Virginia Democratic Party also donated $207,788 to McCabe’s campaign, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Those ties led the FBI to issue a statement in October on Andrew McCabe’s ties to the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, the FBI said McCabe “played no role, attended no events, and did not participate in fundraising or support of any kind (for his wife’s campaign).”
The Trump campaign released a statement on “Clinton ally aiding wife of top FBI official,” but the website page is now longer available.