FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe stepping down

WASHINGTON — FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is leaving his position ahead of a previously planned retirement this spring.

McCabe has been a frequent target of criticism from President Donald Trump.

Two people familiar with the decision described it to The Associated Press on Monday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

The move is effective Monday. McCabe had already been planning to retire upon his eligibility in a matter of weeks.

It is not clear if his early departure is for personal reasons or a reflection of the criticism.

“How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin’ James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation (including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wife’s campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation?” Trump tweeted in December.

McCabe spent hours behind closed doors on Capitol Hill last month being grilled by lawmakers on two separate committees as part of a new investigation of the FBI and its 2016 inquiry into Clinton’s email practices when she was secretary of state. His role supervising the email investigation has come under renewed scrutiny.

But Trump’s tweet is incorrect. McCabe’s wife, Jill, did not get $700,000 in donations from Clinton for a Virginia state Senate race in 2015.

The money came from Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s political action committee and the Virginia Democratic Party and was donated before McCabe was promoted to deputy director and assumed a supervisory role in the Clinton email investigation. McAuliffe is a longtime supporter of Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

McCabe became acting FBI director in May after Trump fired James Comey, who was overseeing the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump maintains there was no collusion between his campaign and the Russian government, and has blasted the investigation as a “witch hunt.”

Trump also tweeted in December that McCabe “is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!!”

Trump and his Republican allies have made it clear that they want McCabe out of the FBI. But McCabe is a civil service employee who cannot be fired without clear evidence of wrongdoing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.