Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe — who was fired — is now walking back his explosive claim that Department of Justice (DOJ) officials met to discuss how to remove President Donald Trump from office using the 25th Amendment.
Excerpts from McCabe’s upcoming interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” dropped on Thursday.
The Atlantic also published excerpts from McCabe’s forthcoming book, “The Threat,” that same day.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe (pictured above right) in March 2018 — just two days before he was supposed to retire with a government pension.
Sessions fired the disgraced former official upon the recommendation of the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) after it determined McCabe “lacked candor” multiple times while under oath.
McCabe oversaw the FBI’s investigation into 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state.
He also briefly served as acting FBI director after Trump dismissed James Comey in May 2017.
During his interview with CBS, McCabe outlined the key role he played in the investigations into obstruction of justice allegations and Trump’s ties to Russia.
He also took partial credit for pushing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (above left) to appoint special counsel Robert Mueller.
But one of the most outlandish newsflashes that resulted from the McCabe interview excerpts was the 25th Amendment claim.
CBS News’ Scott Pelley said Thursday on “CBS This Morning” that McCabe insisted there “were meetings at the Justice Department at which it was discussed whether the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet could be brought together to remove the president of the United States under the 25th Amendment.”
The “highest levels of American law enforcement were trying to figure out what do with the president” in the days between Comey’s firing and Mueller’s appointment, Pelley said.
After these claims caused an uproar on social media, McCabe scaled them back through a statement from his spokeswoman, Melissa Schwartz, on Friday.
— Melissa Schwartz (@MSchwartz3) February 15, 2019
“Certain statements made by Mr. McCabe, in interviews associated with the release of his book, have been taken out of context and misrepresented,” the statement read.
“To clarify, at no time did Mr. McCabe participate in any extended discussions about the use of the 25th Amendment, nor is he aware of any such discussions.”
Related: Trump Slams McCabe as ‘Disgrace to Our Country’
The spokeswoman did note that McCabe “was present and participated in a discussion that included a comment by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein regarding the 25th Amendment.”
“This anecdote was not included in ‘The Threat,’ Mr. McCabe merely confirmed a discussion that was initially reported elsewhere,” the spokeswoman also said.
Rosenstein floated the idea of wearing a wire while interacting with Trump, The New York Times reported in September. But Rosenstein denied the claim and insisted it had been said in jest.
Yet Pelley said McCabe disputed Rosenstein’s account of the wire claim.
Pelley indicated McCabe had said the topic “came up more than once and it was so serious that he took it to the lawyers at the FBI to discuss it.”
Rosenstein once again on Thursday denied the claim through a spokesperson.
“As to the specific portions of this interview provided to the Department of Justice by ’60 Minutes’ in advance, the deputy attorney general again rejects Mr. McCabe’s recitation of events as inaccurate and factually incorrect,” the statement read, according to CNN.
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