Jeff Sessions fires Andrew McCabe a day before he's eligible for his pension

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has fired former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe — and as CNN's Evan Pérez noted, was terminated just 26 hours before he became eligible for his pension.

In his statement, Sessions said that he came to the conclusion to fire McCabe "after an extensive and fair investigation" of allegations that McCabe made an "unauthorized disclosure to the news media."

The New York Times reported that the former acting director of the bureau was fired "after the Justice Department rejected an appeal that would have let him retire this weekend."

Responding to the Times, McCabe accused the attorney general of trying to smear him.

"The idea that I was dishonest is just wrong," McCabe said. "This is part of an effort to discredit me as a witness.”

In his statement and in comments to reporters, Sessions said that the former deputy director "lacked candor" — a charge that the Times noted is "a fireable offense" at the DOJ.

You can read Sessions' statement in full below: