Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe has failed in his efforts to convince the Justice Department not to file potential criminal charges against him for allegedly lying to federal agents, NBC News reported Thursday.

Lawyers for McCabe, who has not yet been charged in the case, reportedly met last month with a top Justice official and the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia in what were believed to be talks seeking to dissuade them from filing criminal charges.

The Washington Post reported last week that federal prosecutors for months have been using a grand jury to investigate McCabe, a critic of President Donald Trump.

McCabe, 51, had served as acting director of the FBI after Trump fired James Comey in 2017.

McCabe himself was fired by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in March 2018, a day before his planned retirement. His termination denied him a full pension.

The Justice Department has said he was fired because he broke FBI rules by improperly disclosing information to journalists related to an investigation into Hillary Clinton.

A Justice Department inspector general report later found McCabe had "lacked candor, including under oath" in describing those disclosures to investigators. McCabe has disputed the report's conclusions.

The Justice Department and a lawyer for McCabe did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment Thursday.