Former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, who was fired by Jeff Sessions last week, authorized a criminal investigation of the attorney general last year, ABC News reports.
McCabe, who was terminated for his “lack of candor,” had similarly opened a federal probe into “whether Sessions lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives,” according to ABC News.
Sources told ABC that Sessions was not aware McCabe had overseen an investigation into his conduct when he terminated the former deputy FBI director last Friday, but a lawyer for Sessions refused to confirm that.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who took over the Russia probe after Sessions’ recusal, informed top Democratic and Republican lawmakers of the investigation into Sessions’ testimony at a briefing last year.
As ABC News reports, shortly thereafter, Rosenstein appointed special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russia meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign and collusion with Donald Trump’s campaign, as well as a host of other potential crimes. Sessions’ testimony before Congress falls under Mueller’s probe.
In a statement, Chuck Cooper—a lawyer for Sessions—insisted the attorney general “is not under investigation for false statements or perjury in his confirmation hearing testimony and related written submissions to Congress.”