McCabe’s Firing Chips Away at the Justice Department’s Independence

Updated at 10:50 a.m. ET on March 17

Andrew McCabe, a former acting and deputy FBI director who had drawn the ire of President Trump, was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions late Friday evening, a decision that raises troubling questions about the independence of both the Justice Department and the FBI.

Trump and his associates are a focus of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and McCabe’s firing could send the message to federal law-enforcement officials that they risk their jobs and reputations if they displease the president.

In his first public comments on the matter, just after midnight, Trump effusively praised McCabe’s dismissal:

Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)