McCabe statement suggests Comey lied to Congress

As I understand it, the core accusation that led to the firing of Andrew McCabe is that McCabe misled investigators about giving information to a former Wall Street Journal reporter regarding the investigation of Hillary Clinton and the Clinton family’s charitable foundation. In his post-firing statement, McCabe asserted that he not only had authority to “share” that information with the media, but did so with the knowledge of “the director.” The FBI director at the time was James Comey.

Here is what McCabe said:

I chose to share with a reporter through my public affairs officer and a legal counselor. As deputy director, I was one of only a few people who had the authority to do that. It was not a secret, it took place over several days, and others, including the director, were aware of the interaction with the reporter.

(Emphasis added)

Maybe. But Jonathan Turley points out that if the “interaction” means leaking the information, then McCabe’s statement would seem to contradict statements Comey made in a May 2017 congressional hearing. Says Turley:

Asked if he had “ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation” or whether he had “ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation,” Comey replied “never” and “no.”. . .

McCabe appears to be suggesting that Comey was consulted before the alleged leak to the media on the Clinton investigation. Many of us had speculated that it seemed unlikely McCabe would take such a step without consulting with Comey. Yet, Comey repeatedly stated that he had never leaked nor caused anyone to leak information to the media.

Comey, by the way, is about to release his book, the title of which is A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership. According to Turley, he has started selling tickets, for roughly $100 each, to attend the book tour events.

Suddenly, the title of Comey’s book seems apt. If McCabe’s statement about Comey’s leadership is the truth, then Comey’s testimony to Congress looks like a lie.

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