Andrew Mccabe is leaving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and will no longer be the No. 2 FBI official. He recently was criticized by President Trump. McCabe will collect a paycheck until his scheduled retirement in March. McCabe's departure comes as tensions escalate over Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation into possible Russia collusion. Republicans have pointed out text messages between FBI officials in an attempt to show bias at the FBI.

According to Politico, President Trump was angry with McCabe over donations that were given to his wife's failed 2015 Virginia Senate campaign, from a PAC that was run by a friend of Hillary Clinton.

McCabe has been with the FBI since 1996 and served under both Robert Mueller and Comey. The Washington Post reported that Trump met with McCabe and asked him who he voted for in the 2016 election.

Donald Trump denies any involvement in McCabe's exit

During a live press briefing, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders claimed that Pres. Trump had no involvement in McCabe's departure.

McCabe was one top FBI official who was made aware of a conversation between FBI Director James Comey and Trump, where he urged him to stop investigating former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Democrats are speaking out against McCabe's exit, saying it was due to nudging by Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to remove all officials who are tied to Comey.

McCabe's departure comes as members of the House Intelligence Committee debate over whether to make a classified document public. The document is alleged to detail FBI surveillance abuses. The Department of Justice says it is reckless and Democrats claim it's just an attempt to undermine Mueller's investigation. The classified memo allegedly shows that McCabe and others within the FBI and DOJ took part in those surveillance abuses.

Rebooting the FBI with a clean slate

Rep. Matt Gaetz told Fox News McCabe's departure is a step forward in the process of restoring the public's trust and now it's moving forward with a clean slate. Trump lawyer, Jay Sekulow, praised the decision, saying that it appears that FBI Director Chris Wray is working to clean up this mess.

McCabe recused himself from an FBI investigation into McAuliffe and campaign contributions given by a Chinese billionaire in 2013. McCabe stayed on in the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton. He later recused himself after the Wall Street Journal revealed the McAuliffe donations. Andrew McCabe was originally expected to replace Comey and was interviewed by Trump last May. However, tensions began to build up between Trump and McCabe over all sorts of political issues.
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