Andrew McCabe fired: Mueller 'in possession of former FBI deputy chief's memos of interactions with Trump'
The former deputy director of the FBI who was sacked two days before his retirement has reportedly handed memos about conversations he had with Donald Trump to the Special Counsel investigating allegations of Russian collusion in the 2016 US presidential election campaign.
After he was fired Andrew McCabe said he had had four encounters with the US President while he was acting FBI director.
He has now handed notes he took about the content of those meetings to Robert Mueller, a source told CNN.
In a separate interview with the American broadcaster Mr McCabe said he had met with Mr Trump three times in person and spoken to him once on the phone.
He said the President had criticised him about his wife Jill’s failed attempt to win a seat in the Virginia state legislature in 2015.
After his predecessor James Comey was fired last May, McCabe said he had had his “own interactions with the President” who had brought up his wife every time he spoke with him.
He added: “Of course, I disagreed with him.”
He spoke out after he was sacked about 26 hours before his expected retirement and after more than 20 years at the bureau.
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said an internal review found he leaked information and misled investigators.
He said Mr McCabe had “made an unauthorised disclosure to the news media and lacked candour – including under oath – on multiple occasions”.
Mr McCabe denied the claims and said he was being targeted because of his involvement in the inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
In a lengthy statement, he claimed he had followed FBI rules and always acted in the interest of setting “the record straight on behalf of the Bureau”.
He said: “I was being portrayed in the media over and over as a political partisan, accused of closing down investigations under political pressure. The FBI was portrayed as caving under that pressure, and making decisions for political rather than law enforcement purposes. Nothing was further from the truth.”
It is not yet clear what the memos will contain, however some US media reports have claimed they detail what former FBI Director James Comey said to him about Mr Trump.
If this is the case, it would allow Mr Mueller’s team to corroborate Mr Comey’s testimony in the Russian probe.
Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised Mr McCabe – who has worked with the FBI since 1996 – and accused him of being biased in favour of Ms Clinton.
The firing came just in time for his 50th birthday. The abrupt dismissal could jeopardise his ability to collect early retirement benefits.
