“We came the closest ever to this country having a coup
and now we need accountability.”
and now we need accountability.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) spoke to Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” on a wide range of subjects. One issue they discussed was DOJ IG Michael Horowitz’ announcement on Friday that he had completed his investigation into the FBI’s alleged abuse of the FISA process. A draft of the report has been delivered to Attorney General William Barr. Before it can be released to the public, the DOJ must redact classified or sensitive information.
McCarthy said, “We came the closest ever to this country having a coup and now we need accountability. I respect this attorney general so greatly, that the way he has handled this, he believes in accountability, but more importantly, he believes in the rule of law.”
They spoke about the legal status of fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. The news broke on Thursday that the DOJ had rejected McCabe’s appeal which indicated he would likely face indictment for lying under oath to investigators from the IG’s office on three occasions. However, a report in the Washington Post said that a grand jury had met and had declined to indict him. It’s unclear how they would have received information from a grand jury because of the stiff penalties for doing so. It was reported that McCabe’s attorney, Michael Bromwich, sent an email to US attorney Jesse Liu and several other DOJ officials to find out if that was true.
In light of that, Bartiromo asked McCarthy if we will see an indictment for McCabe.
“We will see an indictment here,” McCarthy said.
Bartiromo pressed him on the accountability of former FBI Director James Comey. “So far, anything about Jim Comey. He’s getting off?” The DOJ had declined to prosecute Comey for violating FBI rules and protocols which had been outlined by the IG in a brief report which focused solely on his handling of the President, and his leaking of the memos.
The more comprehensive IG report, which will be released as soon as it undergoes the DOJ’s redaction process, will deal with violations of the law, specifically, the FBI’s allegedly fraudulent application to the FISA Court and three renewal applications. The IG was especially concerned over the fact that the FBI presented the unverified Steele dossier as the basis of their application and used an article written by Yahoo News reporter Michael Isikoff, who had used Steele as his source.
McCarthy replied, “In the end, I do not believe that Jim Comey will get off.”
“A lot of people point to the CIA as being one of the masterminds, John Brennan. Are we going to see John Brennan come back and answer some questions,” Bartiromo asked.
McCarthy answered, “Anyone that has had any association with trying to create this coup should be held accountable.”
I’ve heard a lot of confident Republicans on talk shows echoing McCarthy’s sentiments.
Very soon, we’ll know for sure.
