The former deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Andrew McCabe denies that he was recently offered a plea deal by federal prosecutors. The allegation was made by right-wing commentator Mark Levin during an episode of his eponymous radio show last week.
Levin’s claim would suggest that U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham was preparing to indict McCabe over allegations that he leaked confidential FBI information to the media and “lacked candor” (i.e. lied) when later asked about that leak by federal investigators.
An internal report by Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz determined that McCabe authorized the release of a discussion regarding the FBI’s investigation of the Clinton Foundation to a reporter for the Wall Street Journal.
Levin said on Friday:
This is what I was told by a very, very, good source. No, not the attorney general. No, not the U.S. Attorney. Remember, I worked at Justice years ago, so I know a lot of people. Could be wrong, but I’m told it’s pretty solid. That is that Durham offered McCabe a pre-indictment plea agreement and McCabe turned it down, so they impaneled a grand jury in Washington, D.C.
McCabe’s counsel responded to Levin’s claim on Wednesday by telling the conservative-leaning Washington Examiner that any such insinuations were off-base.
“Any assertion that Andrew McCabe was offered a plea deal is 100% false,” a representative for the former FBI second-in-command told the Examiner.
In early 2019, Attorney General William Barr authorized Durham to began an inquiry into the origins of the election interference and obstruction of justice probe led by former special counsel Robert Mueller. Last week, Durham’s probe became criminal in nature.
Levin’s alleged source, if true, would indicate that McCabe is now being looked at by two separate federal investigators.
Law&Crime previously reported that McCabe was likely to be charged over allegations contained in the Horowitz report by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
In early September, McCabe’s legal team received the following email dismissing his DAG appeal: “The Department rejected your appeal of the United States Attorney’s Office’s decision in this matter. Any further inquiries should be directed to the United States Attorney’s Office.”
Former Acting Attorney General of the United States Matthew Whitaker previously said he believed that McCabe was “imminently going to be charged.”
McCabe has been adamant about his innocence and previously told CNN–where he was recently hired as a contributor–that he would never accept a plea deal if one were offered.
“Absolutely not, under any circumstances,” McCabe told Chris Cuomo in September. “I never intentionally misled anyone about anything and I will not stand up and claim that I’ve done something that I didn’t do.”
McCabe also disputed the findings by the career employees operating under Horowitz at the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General.
“I absolutely reject the findings” McCabe told the son of the former governor of New York State/brother of the current governor of New York State. “I certainly have not committed a crime.”
[Image via Pete Marovich/Getty Images]
