Former Rep. Trey Gowdy says he does not believe former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is telling the truth about a bipartisan group of lawmakers being briefed on a counterintelligence investigation into President Trump.
McCabe said Tuesday he and other FBI officials informed the so-called “Gang of Eight” leaders from both parties in the House and Senate, as well as the chairs and co-chairs of the House and Senate intelligence committees, that the bureau had opened a counterintelligence investigation into Trump after he fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017.
The former FBI official said none of the lawmakers, which included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, and then-House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, objected to the investigation.
“Not on legal grounds, not on constitutional grounds, and not based on the facts,” McCabe told NBC’s “Today” show.
Gowdy said later Tuesday he’s suspicious of McCabe’s story because Nunes and Ryan never mentioned the investigation.
“The reason he’s doing it this way is that Devin and Paul are not allowed to discuss anything that’s said in a ‘Gang of Eight’ meeting and McCabe knows that,” Gowdy said on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum.” “So he can level the accusation and Devin and Paul cannot refute him.”
“I listened to Devin and Paul quiz the [Justice Department] and the FBI for hours on multiple occasions about the one counterintelligence investigation, we all knew about it. I find it stunning that they would know about a second one and not say a single solitary word,” he said.
