This archive report was first published on 13 September 2019.
September 13, 2019, marked a crucial day in the highly unusual and politically charged case of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. His lawyers, seeking clarity on the government's intentions, asked federal prosecutors whether a secret grand jury had refused to indict him.
According to a letter sent by McCabe's defense team, the grand jury's inactivity over the past few months and the lack of any sign of an indictment suggested that the government might be struggling to make a case against him.
McCabe's lawyers have consistently denied that he intentionally lied during an internal inquiry, and they have argued that he is being singled out for prosecution. They pointed out that similar cases were typically handled administratively, not through criminal prosecution.
The Justice Department's rejection of the defense's recent appeal had initially suggested that an indictment was forthcoming. However, the grand jury hearing evidence on Thursday left for the day without any sign of an indictment, and as of midday Friday, none had emerged.
The case centers on an investigation by the Justice Department inspector general into several issues, including dealings with the news media. The inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, found that McCabe was unforthcoming when asked about information provided to a Wall Street Journal reporter in 2016 about an F.B.I. inquiry into the Clinton Foundation.
Bringing criminal charges against a former senior F.B.I. official would be highly unusual. McCabe was fired last year over the inspector general's findings days before he was eligible for retirement benefits. He had become a favorite target of President Trump, and McCabe has said the president was trying to undermine him as a witness in the special counsel's investigation.
