During the FBI's probe into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, investigators eventually had reason to think that President Donald Trump "posed a danger to national security," the agency's former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, USA Today reported.
McCabe insisted that political bias played no role in the FBI's investigation.
"We didn't open a case because we liked one candidate or didn't like the other one," said McCabe, who served as the FBI's acting director after Trump fired then-Director James Comey for his role in managing the Russia probe in 2017. "We didn't open a case because we intended to stage a coup or overthrow the government. ... We opened a case to find out how the Russians might be undermining our elections. We opened a case because it was our obligation — our duty — to do so."
McCabe, the fourth witness to be called before the panel, said that federal investigators eventually became "alarmed" as Trump encouraged the FBI to discontinue a probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with a Russian ambassador while the president allegedly attempted to obstruct the Russia inquiry by firing Comey.
These were the events that made investigators think that Trump "posed a danger to national security."
The Republican members of the Senate committee have criticized the Russia probe as a politically motivated way to undermine Trump during his candidacy and presidency.
Trump tweeted on Tuesday that Republicans should not "let Andrew McCabe continue to get away with totally criminal activity. What he did should never be allowed to happen to our Country again. FIGHT FOR JUSTICE!"
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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