
Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano admitted the firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe 'could very well be ... obstruction of justice.'

Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano warned Monday that the abrupt dismissal of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe could constitute obstruction of justice by Trump.

Speaking on the Fox News show "America's Newsroom," Napolitano said he thinks the firing of McCabe, which came less than two days before his scheduled retirement, was a "vindictive" and "reckless" move by by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"Andrew McCabe is more likely than not to be a witness against the attorney general’s boss, the president of the United States,” Napolitano told Fox host Bill Hemmer.


"I think that firing him in that environment could very well be interpreted as an effort to diminish his effectiveness as a witness. What’s that called? Obstruction of justice.”

McCabe was fired Friday evening after more than two decades at the FBI. His ouster was announced barely 24 hours before he was set to retire — a last-minute move that could mean he will lose the pension he earned during his years of service.

In a statement released shortly after his firing, McCabe said he believed his dismissal was part of an effort to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia's election interference, in which McCabe is likely to be a key witness.

McCabe is one of only three people who can reportedly corroborate the circumstances surrounding the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, who testified under oath that Trump pressured him to drop the Russia investigation before firing him.

That makes McCabe a particularly important witness in a potential obstruction case — and that, in turn, gives Trump a strong motive to want to discredit him.

That's also why the circumstances of McCabe's firing could spell trouble for Trump. And even Fox's Napolitano — who Trump once described as a "very talented legal mind" — can't deny that fact.