Some thoughts on the firing of Andrew McCabe & today's aftermath: 1) It almost goes without saying that his firing, after decades of distinguished service & 2 days before he could retire, was vindictive & outrageous, regardless of the merits. washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/w…
2) The attempt by President Trump's team to seize on this & argue for the Mueller investigation to be shut down is predictable, but utterly baseless. The two are completely unrelated, Special Counsel Mueller's investigation has been effective & honorably done, ...
& this is just the latest in a concerted effort to undercut the Mueller investigation by the President & his allies as Mueller has continued to make progress & get closer to the President. citizensforethics.org/thesmearcampai…
3) The firing is likely to be counterproductive for several reasons. McCabe may well be successful in challenging his firing, aided by the President's tweets which make a show of bias & political motivation that much easier, & end up with his pension restored.
4) This firing, or at least the President's encouragement of it, could well be the latest small piece of evidence of obstruction of justice if it can be shown to have been intended to undermine the Mueller investigation (which seems more than plausible).
5) Anyone who's done significant work with FBI agents, as I have, knows that the idea of the FBI & its leadership as a bastion of liberal bias is preposterous. They're a pretty conservative bunch to say the least. However, the President seems to be doing all he can to make it so.
6) Director Comey was extremely popular among FBI rank & file. His firing did not sit well with them. The firing of McCabe days before his retirement will make many in the FBI furious. Many agents likely were pretty sympathetic to President Trump initially. They aren't now.
