Report: McCabe launched obstruction probe after Comey's firing

After President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017 but before the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe opened an obstruction of justice investigation, two people with knowledge of the matter told CNN on Thursday.

McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein were both concerned about President Trump's behavior, CNN reports, and they discussed several different ways they could rein him in, including having Rosenstein wear a wire while meeting with him (when The New York Times first reported this detail in September, Rosenstein denied it). CNN says the FBI had been considering launching the investigation even before Comey was fired, because of Trump asking Comey during an Oval Office meeting to end the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.