Getty Andrew McCabe dropped a major bombshell in new "60 Minutes" interview.
Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe revealed that he opened an obstruction of justice investigation into President Donald Trump to preserve the Russia investigation.
McCabe made several bombshell revelations in an interview with CBS News’ Scott Pelley, that is scheduled to air on “60 Minutes” Sunday.
In a preview of the interview aired Thursday, McCabe said he opened an obstruction of justice investigation into the president after his firing of FBI Director James Comey.
According to Pelley, McCabe also told CBS News that he and Justice Department officials discussed bringing in Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.
Pelley said McCabe also confirmed a New York Times report that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein offered multiple times to wear a wire to meetings with the president.
McCabe: I Launched Obstruction Probe to Protect Russia Investigation
Ex-FBI acting director Andrew McCabe: “I was speaking to the man who had just … won the election for the presidency and who might have done so with the aid of the government of Russia.” Via CBS
McCabe told Pelley in a preview of the interview that he opened an obstruction of justice investigation into the president after his firing of James Comey to prevent the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign from being shut down.
“I was very concerned that I was able to put the Russia case on absolutely solid ground, in an indelible fashion,” McCabe told Pelley. “That were I removed quickly, or reassigned or fired, that the case could not be closed or vanish in the night without a trace.”
“I wanted to make sure that our case was on solid ground and if somebody came in behind me and closed it and tried to walk away from it, they would not be able to do that without creating a record of why they made that decision,” he added.
“I was speaking to the man who had just run for the presidency and just won the election for the presidency,” McCabe recalled. “And who might have done so with the aid of the government of Russia, our most formidable adversary on the world stage. And that was something that troubled me greatly.”
McCabe: DOJ Discussed Invoking 25th Amendment to Remove Trump From Office
CBS’s Scott Pelley on what Andrew McCabe said in a 60 Minutes interview: “There were meetings at the DOJ at which it was discussed whether the vice president and a majority of the cabinet could be brought together to remove POTUS under the 25th Amendment.”
In a preview of the upcoming interview, Pelley told “CBS This Morning” that McCabe revealed during their discussion that the Department of Justice discussed whether Trump could be removed by his own cabinet.
“There were meetings at the Justice Department at which it was discussed whether the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet could be brought together to remove the president of the United States under the 25th Amendment,” Pelley said.
“These were the eight days from Comey’s firing to the point that Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel,” Pelley added. “And the highest levels of American law enforcement were trying to figure out what do with the president.”
McCabe: Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein Offered to Wear a Wire During Trump Meetings
.@ScottPelley says McCabe told him the suggestion that Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein wear a wire into the WH to record potentially incriminating conversations with the president “came up more than once and it was so serious that he took it to the lawyers at the FBI to discuss it.”
Pelley said that McCabe also confirmed a New York Times report that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein offered to wear a wire to surreptitiously record meetings with Trump.
The Justice Department said in a previous statement that Rosenstein made the remark sarcastically.
“McCabe in the interview says no, it came up more than once and it was so serious that he took it to the lawyers at the FBI to discuss it,” Pelley said Thursday.
The White House issued a statement alleging that McCabe was lying. McCabe was abruptly fired last May shortly before an inspector general accused him of lying about contacts with reporters.
“Andrew McCabe was fired in total disgrace from the FBI because he lied to investigators on multiple occasions, including under oath,” The White House statement said. “His selfish and destructive agenda drove him to open a completely baseless investigation into the President. His actions were so shameful that he was referred to federal prosecutors. Andrew McCabe has no credibility and is an embarrassment to the men and women of the FBI and our great country.”
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