# McCabe firing **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 18, 2018, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774 "2018-03-18T12:19:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/1 "2018-03-18T12:19:22Z")
Sorry if this is already being addressed in another thread. If so, I didn’t see it. Much is being made of McCabe’s dismissal and laying blame at Trump’s feet. What doesn’t seem to be getting much play is the fact that the firing was recommended by McCabe’s own FBI OPR officials. That tells me that there must be some substance to the accusations of “lack of candor” - FBI speak for lying. Either that or there is something else in the IG’s report that warrants ending his career. Yes, Trump wanted McCabe gone for reasons other than lying but it appears the McCabe gave Sessions the ammunition to fire him for other legitimate reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/2 "2018-03-18T12:37:43Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > Sorry if this is already being addressed in another thread. If so, I didn’t see it. > > Much is being made of McCabe’s dismissal and laying blame at Trump’s feet. What doesn’t seem to be getting much play is the fact that _the firing was recommended by McCabe’s own FBI OPR officials._ (italics mine) Cite for this, please? ---
**Author:** ![Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/aca169/32.png) [@Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inbred_Mm_domesticus)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/3 "2018-03-18T13:24:54Z")
Every report I’ve seen this weekend includes the information that his firing was recommended. I read mostly mainstream media sources. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/4 "2018-03-18T13:31:21Z")
> [@Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](#): > > Every report I’ve seen this weekend includes the information that his firing was recommended. I read mostly mainstream media sources. There’s that nefarious passive voice that I hate so much. No actor. No locus of responsibility. WHO recommended? (My emphasis.) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/5 "2018-03-18T13:37:40Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > There’s that nefarious passive voice that I hate so much. No actor. No locus of responsibility. WHO recommended? > > (My emphasis.) FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility, run by Candice Will( who was appointed by Robert Mueller in 2004 ). ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/6 "2018-03-18T14:03:57Z")
Yep. > **[Ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is fired -- and fires back | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/16/politics/andrew-mccabe-fired/index.html)** > > Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe late Friday, less than two days shy of his retirement, ending the career of an official who had risen to serve as second-in-command at the bureau. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/7 "2018-03-18T14:28:37Z")
I keep hearing that as well but the timing of the firing, two days before his pension, seems sufficiently cold to have originated with anything other that a bit of presidential pique. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/8 "2018-03-18T14:40:36Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility, run by Candice Will( who was appointed by Robert Mueller in 2004 ). > [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Yep. > > [https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/16/politics/andrew-mccabe-fired/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/16/politics/andrew-mccabe-fired/index.html) Thank you! Let’s have no more passive voice in these difficult times. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/9 "2018-03-18T15:53:44Z")
Seems to me someone ‘recommended’ Comey’s firing too. I’m not buying any of it until I see some hard evidence, certainly more than Trump’s and one of his attorneys’ tweets. I wouldn’t take their word on the time of day. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/10 "2018-03-18T16:10:32Z")
We have to trust that the firing was recommended by the review. I don’t trust this. Their report won’t be available for some time. Honestly, if Trump said the sky was blue, I would go outside to check. The Trump administration lies so much, I just cannot trust anything they say. ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/11 "2018-03-18T16:12:41Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Thank you! Let’s have no more passive voice in these difficult times. Hmmm… > [@CNN link](#): > > The origin of his dramatic fall stems from an internal review conducted by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. That report – the details of which have not been publicly released – is said to conclude that McCabe misled investigators about his role in directing other officials at the FBI to speak to The Wall Street Journal about his involvement in a public corruption investigation into the Clinton Foundation, according to a source briefed on it. Looks to me like passive voice in that cite. I still want to see a copy of the IG’s report, rather than just believe an unnamed source or Sessions. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/12 "2018-03-18T16:15:49Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility, run by Candice Will( who was appointed by Robert Mueller in 2004 ). Yeah, the firing, itself, doesn’t seem political. It’s the timing, the manner and the needless tweeting afterwards that make this a political mistake. Not to mention just downright unpresidential. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/13 "2018-03-18T16:28:40Z")
I think the story as presented in the press - that the IG found wrongdoing and referred the case to the OPR, which recommended termination, is credible as reported and I’m not going to waste any breath arguing that it isn’t. What I do not understand, like everyone else, is the precise nature of the wrongdoing. But given that two impartial watchdogs found McCabe did something seriously wrong, my main thought is: leave it to Trump and Sessions to give me sympathy for someone who may not deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/14 "2018-03-18T17:06:21Z")
Lawfare has one of the best [accounts](https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-firing-andrew-mccabe) that I have read. Regardless of the underlying (and not yet public) issues with McCabe, the hastened firing sends a chilling message to others. I also am of the opinion that Trump would have fired Sessions had McCabe not been terminated before officially reaching retirement. So Sessions could have done this as a CYA or to protect Mueller for a bit longer. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/15 "2018-03-18T17:42:43Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > Honestly, if Trump said the sky was blue, I would go outside to check. The Trump administration lies so much, I just cannot trust anything they say. A classic tale comes to mind: > [@](#): > > There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, “Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!” > > The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces. > > “Don’t cry ‘wolf’, shepherd boy,” said the villagers, “when there’s no wolf!” They went grumbling back down the hill. > > Later, the boy sang out again, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!” To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away. > > When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, “Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there is NO wolf!” > > But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more. > > Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, “Wolf! Wolf!” > > But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn’t come. > > At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn’t returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping. > > “There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, “Wolf!” Why didn’t you come?” > > An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village. > > “We’ll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning,” he said, putting his arm around the youth, “Nobody believes a liar…even when he is telling the truth!” > **[Story Arts | Aesop's ABC | The Boy Who Cried Wolf](http://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/stories/boy.html)** > > Educational Web site, designed for teachers, librarians, and students,explores the use of storytelling in the classroom to enhance speaking, > listening, reading and writing skills. . ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/16 "2018-03-18T20:27:27Z")
I would certainly like to know more (and am certain we will). There was a recommendation, as noted, but I understand that we do not know what standard practice was followed after that, and what was cut short in order to remove his pension. In other words, once the recommendation is made there is normally a system in place for review of the findings, and internal hearings. It is not clear how much of this was done according to SOP. Because of the way it was handled, whether or not it was wrong, it looks improper. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/17 "2018-03-18T20:49:45Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > A classic tale comes to mind: > [Story Arts | Aesop's ABC | The Boy Who Cried Wolf](http://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/stories/boy.html) > > . You seriously thougt you needed to recount “the boy who cried wolf”? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/18 "2018-03-18T20:51:10Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > You seriously thougt you needed to recount “the boy who cried wolf”? Could have been “Chicken Little”. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/19 "2018-03-18T21:08:41Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > You seriously thougt you needed to recount “the boy who cried wolf”? I liked his post. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774/20 "2018-03-18T21:15:23Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > You seriously thougt you needed to recount “the boy who cried wolf”? [This version](http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crying_wolf_min.png) might be more apropos in the long run… (Image from _Oglaf_, SFW but using a link to a different copy since most of the webcomic is distinctly NSFW.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccabe-firing/810774.md?page=2)