Kennedy: McCabe is "lucky" he hasn't been prosecuted
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe could've been prosecuted and charged with perjury for lying to FBI officials.
"He's lucky he wasn't prosecuted," Kennedy said on "Face the Nation" Sunday, referring to McCabe, who was fired by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in March 2018 after the Department of Justice's inspector general and the FBI's disciplinary office alleged he had made unauthorized leaks to the press and lied about it to FBI officials.
"For perjury. For lying to an FBI agent," Kennedy said when asked why Mccabe would be prosecuted. "He did it repeatedly. Now if you and I do that, we go to jail."
"He just got fired. He was lucky," the Louisiana Republican added. McCabe has said he never intentionally misled officials about his contacts with the media. His attorney said in February that a criminal investigation into his conduct is ongoing.
Kennedy said McCabe was among a group of FBI officials who "politicized" the law enforcement agency. "When an FBI agent knocks at your door, you shouldn't have to worry about whether you're a Democrat or a Republican and whether that makes a difference," he added.
McCabe, who also appeared on "Face the Nation" Sunday, has insisted that his firing, which came less than two days before his scheduled retirement, was politically motivated and part of President Trump's "war" on the FBI. Since his dismissal, he has described his role in overseeing investigations into Russian meddling in U.S. elections, possible ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow and whether the president committed obstruction of justice.
McCabe told "60 Minutes" he was present in a meeting where Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein raised the possibility of ousting Mr. Trump from office through the 25th Amendment.