McCabe's 'masterful chess move' may have cemented Mueller's appointment and Trump's fate
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The actions of former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe immediately following the early firing of James Comey may have virtually ensured the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Donald Trump, according to a panel of experts on MSNBC. The revelatioMcCabe's 'masterful chess move' may have cemented Mueller's appointment and Trump's fate
The actions of former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe immediately following the early firing of James Comey may have virtually ensured the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Donald Trump, according to a panel of experts on MSNBC. The revelation arose from an interview Deadline's Nicolle Wallace conducted with McCabe on Wednesday. Panelists listening in the green room first surmised and later confirmed with McCabe directly that he had added Trump's name to the FBI's existing Russia investigations instead of opening up separate investigations into him. McCabe also, they confirmed, added the obstruction of justice case to the existing probe into Russian interference. «He added the president to the already predicated, already long existing case on Russian meddling with the campaign,» explained former FBI Assistant Director Frank Figliuzzi. «The obstruction case was not separate either. He added that to the existing [counterintelligence] case, so anyone trying to close that is closing an obstruction case on the president.» The way McCabe decided to structure the cases had both practical impact and, in retrospect, symbolic importance. Symbolically, it meant that McCabe had what he himself described as «an articulable basis» to add Trump's name to the existing probe. «Why is that important?» said Figliuzzi. «That case was a full counterintelligence investigation ... you have specific and articulable facts that someone is or may be an agent of a foreign power. He felt he had enough [evidence] to add Trump's name to that existing case—that's big news.» But McCabe’s actions also had some very important immediate effects. First, it meant that investigators instantly had a full panoply of investigative tools—such as going to FISA court—already at their disposal. Additionally, both Figliuzzi and former Justice Department spokesperson Matt Miller agreed that it was a «masterful chess move» in the moment in terms of ensuring the probe would have a certain amount of longevity. Read more