Letting Andrew McCabe keep his FBI pension is not the Attorney General's priority

Andrew McCabe is going to be fired by the FBI, and he should. He violated ethical standards by leaking sensitive information that created the false impression he was taking the investigation into the Clinton Foundation seriously. He wasn't. He was spiking it just like the Hillary e-mail investigation was being spiked. The FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility has recommended that McCabe be fired for this, and there's no question Attorney General Jeff Sessions will follow that recommendattion. The question is whether he'll do so by Sunday, which would save the government a boatload of money, but also prompted much of the Beltway crowd and the chattering classes to scream that Sessions and Donald Trump are being mean and vindictive:

The recommendation to fire Mr. McCabe isn’t coming from Donald Trump or Russian bots. It comes from the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility. News reports say it is based on a finding from the Justice Department’s Inspector General that Mr. McCabe authorized the disclosure of sensitive information to a Wall Street Journal reporter about the investigation into the Clinton Foundation—and then lied about it to IG investigators. The IG report remains secret, but it’s hard to believe the FBI would recommend such punishment if it did not believe Mr. McCabe’s actions were a serious breach of duty. The bureau’s recommendation is in marked contrast to the endorsement from his old boss, former FBI Director James Comey, who tweeted in January that Mr. McCabe “stood tall” as “small people were trying to tear down an institution we all depend on.” Did St. Jim know about his comrade’s alleged deception? Mr. McCabe is connected to controversial FBI investigations into both presidential candidates in 2016, and in January he said he would formally retire on March 18 when he would have enough seniority to qualify for his pension. Firing him early could cost him that lifetime payout.

So the temptation is to delay the firing until next week and let McCabe retire with his pension. Sessions should not do that. He should fire McCabe immediately.

There's a reason you're required to serve for 21 years, rather than 20 years and 364 days, in order to qualify for a pension. That's considered the minimum amount of service that's acceptable before the government should be expected to pay you a lifetime of retirement benefits. If you're a minimally qualified employee, it really shouldn't be that hard to meet. Do your job well, ethically and honestly, and you'll make it to 21 years without a problem. McCabe didn't do that. He violated ethical standards during year 19, and in the process forfeited any reasonable claim that he should be kept on through years 20 and 21. When you've already earned your firing and you haven't yet reached the 21-year mark, then you failed to meet the standard and you don't deserve the pension. McCabe's actions were serious betrayals of the public's trust, and no one who has committed such an offense deserves a pension - especially when he hasn't even qualified for it yet. Yes, there will be people who call this vindictive. Those people are idiots. The man deserves to be fired. He does not deserve a pension. How is this even a difficult call?

Dan Calabrese——Bio and Archives

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