Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe on Thursday undermined the theory that former FBI Director James Comey was fired just days after he asked the Justice Department for more funding and personnel for the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election.
The New York Times and others reported that anonymous sources said Comey had just asked for more resources, and Democrats seized on those reports as evidence that Trump fired Comey to hinder the Russia probe.
But at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, McCabe said the FBI already has enough resources to do the job.
“If you’re referring to the Russia investigation, I do,” McCabe said when asked by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., if the FBI is properly funded to do the job. “I believe we have the adequate resources to do it, and I know that we have resourced that investigation adequately.”
That answer could help the Trump administration downplay the press stories. However, McCabe didn’t say definitively that Comey did not ask for more resources before he was fired.
McCabe’s answer was a political point for the Trump administration, but McCabe also delivered another answer that is likely to help Democrats. The White House indicated that Comey had lost the confidence of many in the government, including the rank and file in the FBI.
But McCabe said those comments are “not accurate.”
“I can tell you that I hold Director Comey in the absolute highest regard,” McCabe said. “I have the highest respect for his considerable abilities in his integrity and it has been the greatest privilege and honor [of] my professional life to work with him. I can tell you also that Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI. And still does to this day.”
