Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe still has concerns after lawsuit settlement: 'I don't feel free'

Former FBI Deputy Director, Andrew McCabe, visited Anderson Cooper 360 Thursday, for his first interview since the Justice Department agreed to restore his full pension earlier in the day. It was part of a settlement from a lawsuit McCabe filed 20 months ago, which argued that his March 2018 dismissal by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions was a political move ordered by then-President Donald Trump.

“I can't tell you what this has been like going through. What this whole campaign has put my wife through. My children. My parents,” McCabe said. “To have a settlement of this lawsuit and one that so clearly indicates this should never have happened, it is both an incredible relief, it's satisfying, but it's also, you know, it's also kind of sad.”

McCabe was fired just hours before he was going to begin his retirement, a move he says was “clearly an act of vindication against a perceived political enemy.” So he is not only glad for his family now that this is over, but he’s happy about the message that is being sent from this ruling.

“I think it's a message to government employees, to civil servants everywhere,” McCabe said. “This is the current Department of Justice standing up for fairness and standing up for the rule of law.”

While his pension has been restored and the legal drama is over, McCabe doesn’t necessarily feel all that free, since he expects to still be caught in the wrath of Trump.

“I mean, I feel better, but I don't feel free. I don't kid myself to think that the president is going to put aside his horrific judgment, his constant lying and his tormenting of me and my family,” McCabe said. “I'm sure this will just add another log to the fire. He'll probably be saying all kinds of things about it tomorrow. But you know what? I'm just to the point where I don't care. I don't care what that guy has to say.”

Anderson Cooper 360 airs weeknights at 8:00 p.m. on CNN.

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