FBI documents: Andrew McCabe had no conflict in Hillary Clinton email probe

Kevin Johnson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption FBI records site no conflict for Andrew McCabe in Clinton probe FBI documents say that Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has "no conflicts" while overseeing the Hillary Clinton investigation. McCabe has been the target of Republican lawmakers who accused him of partisan influence during the Clinton email probe.

WASHINGTON — FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whom President Trump has blamed for influencing the decision not to criminally charge Hillary Clinton for her use of private email server, did not oversee that inquiry while his wife was running for state office in Virginia as a Democrat, according to bureau records released Friday.

The internal documents, published on the FBI's website, support what the bureau has asserted previously: that McCabe had no conflicts when he assumed oversight of the Clinton investigation. His role began in February 2016, following his appointment as deputy director and three months after his wife, Jill McCabe, lost her bid for a state Senate seat.

McCabe has been repeatedly targeted by Trump and some Republican lawmakers, who accuse the long-time FBI official of exerting undue and partisan influence over the Clinton probe.

As recently as last month, Trump seized on McCabe's role in the Clinton inquiry and his wife's political bid, noting that Jill McCabe received nearly $470,000 from a political action committee associated with Clinton ally and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

Before his wife announced her election bid in March 2015, the documents show that McCabe, who was then an assistant director in the bureau's Washington Field Office, consulted with FBI officials about how his wife's campaign could present possible conflicts of interest.

At that time, according to the documents, McCabe was "excluded from any involvement" in public corruption cases in Virginia.

"It was not until (McCabe) assumed the position of deputy director in February 2016 that he had oversight of the (Clinton) investigation, well after (Jill McCabe's) campaign had concluded."

McCabe, who briefly served as acting FBI director following Trump's May firing of James Comey, is expected to retire from the bureau later this year.

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