Donald Trump’s Rivals Lash Out Over “Cowardly” Firing of Deputy FBI Chief

“When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known…”

Chris Kleponis/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Democrats are laying into Donald Trump after he had Attorney General Jeff Sessions fire deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe late Friday night, only days before McCabe was set to retire with full benefits. While Trump considered it a victory, leaders on the other side of the aisle had harsh words for the president.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who is on the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump would be fired soon.

John Brennan, who led the CIA from 2013 to 2017, fired back at Trump saying he would go down in history as a “disgraced demagogue.”

And Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said on Fox News that McCabe’s firing “looks very much like it was vindictive and political.” 

Trump antagonist Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) was more serious than usual, alluding to legal action from McCabe and calling his punishment unfair.

Trump, who previously had former FBI chief James Comey fired in a humiliating fashion—Comey learned of his ouster from TV news—gloated after the late night announcement, calling the firing a great day for democracy.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate