(This post was updated to reflect the fact that McCabe was fired late Friday after the original article was posted. The arguments still apply.)

Original post (9:00p.m.):
Andrew McCabe former Deputy Director of the FBI should not be allowed to retire with full benefits. His firing has been recommended by the FBI and

The FBI’s Office of Personal Responsibility has recommended the firing of former deputy director Andrew McCabe, who is accused of serious misconduct.

The recommendation apparently resulted from a report by the Justice Department’s inspector general, which found that McCabe leaked sensitive details about the FBI’s investigation of the Clinton Foundation to a Wall Street Journal reporter and then lied about it to the IG’s office.

Any average American would be facing jail time if caught lying to the FBI. It is long past time that federal employees and officials face the same scrutiny and legal ramifications as anyone else. McCabe retiring with a pension and all his benefits should not even be an option.

Judicial Watch has been on top of this case for some time. McCabe did not recuse himself from the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s now infamous private email server until a week before the election.

Judicial Watch today released Justice Department records showing that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe did not recuse himself from the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s unsecure, non-government email server until Tuesday, November 1, 2016, one week prior to the presidential election. The Clinton email probe was codenamed “Midyear Exam.”

While working as Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office, McCabe controlled resources supporting the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. An October 2016 internal FBI memorandum labeled “Overview of Deputy Director McCabe’s Recusal Related To Dr. McCabe’s Campaign for Political Office,” details talking points about McCabe’s various potential conflicts of interest, including the FBI’s investigation of Clinton’s illicit server, which officially began in July 2015:

While at [Washington Field Office] did Mr. McCabe provide assistance to the Clinton investigation?

After the referral was made, FBI Headquarters asked the Washington Field Office for personnel to conduct a special investigation. McCabe was serving as [Assistant Director] and provided personnel resources. However, he was not told what the investigation was about. In February 2016 McCabe became Deputy Director and began overseeing the Clinton investigation.

McCabe was overseeing the investigation into Hillary Clinton while his wife Dr. Jill McCabe was running for the Virginia State Senate and participating in fundraisers with Governor Terry McAuliffe who has long been neck deep in Clinton shenanigans.

The Overview also shows if asked whether McCabe played any role in his wife’s campaign, the scripted response was: “No. Then-[Assistant Director] McCabe played no role, attended no events and did not participate in fundraising or support of any kind.”

In June 2017, Circareported that social media photos showed “McCabe wearing a T-shirt supporting his wife’s campaign during a public event and then posting a photo on social media urging voters to join him in voting for his wife.” The Justice Department IG is investigating whether McCabe properly disclosed payments to his wife’s campaign on his ethics report, as well as possible Hatch Act violations.

The Overview attempts to deflect concerns regarding the timing of the announcement of Mrs. McCabe’s candidacy in mid-March 2015, fast on the heels of Clinton’s illicit server becoming public knowledge.

The conflict of interest here should be obvious. Further evidence obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act paints a picture of a quid pro quo through which McCabe’s influence over the Clinton investigation yielded big donations to his wife’s political campaign from big Clinton donors.

The documents also show repeated use of the official FBI email system in connection with Mrs. McCabe’s political campaign. For example:

• On March 13, 2015, Mrs. McCabe emails to her husband’s official FBI email account a draft press release announcing her run for state Senate.

• In August 2015, McCabe uses his official FBI email account to advise a redacted recipient to visit his wife’s campaign website: “Jill has been busy as hell since she decided to run for VA state senate (long story). Check her out on Facebook as Dr. Jill McCabe for Senate.”

• On November 2, 2015, Mrs. McCabe forwards an email to her husband – then the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Office – that accuses her opponent of extorting local businessmen. The email was sent to her husband’s official FBI account.

The documents include an October 2016 letter from House Government Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz to McCabe questioning a possible conflict of interest by noting that Clinton headlined a Virginia fundraiser on June 26, 2015, for Mrs. McCabe. “A significant amount was donated after the FBI had initiated its investigation and begun meeting with Secretary Clinton’s attorneys in August 2015.”

The documents also show that FBI leadership was sensitive to reports of FBI internal dissent with then-Director Comey’s handling of the Clinton investigation. On October 24, 2016, Mrs. McCabe forwarded to Director McCabe a True Pundit article titled, “FBI Director Lobbied Against Criminal Charges For Hillary After Clinton Insider Paid His Wife $700,000.”

This stinks on ice and at the very least McCabe should be terminated. It’s probably too much to hope for criminal charges to be pursued. It is long past time to start holding bureaucrats and politicians accountable instead of treating them as if they were above the law. We don’t need more Lois Lerner’s retiring with cushy pensions after abusing their authority for partisan purposes.

The FBI’s Office of Personal Responsibility recommends firing McCabe. To do anything less would be yet another miscarriage of justice in the incestuous and corrupt capitol.

UPDATE: Good. In keeping with the recommendations from the FBI, Attorney General Sessions fired Andrew McCabe on Friday evening.