News

Jill McCabe Speaks Out About Donald Trump Attacks On Husband Andrew McCabe

Jill McCabe, an emergency room pediatrician and former Federal Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s wife, penned an op-ed in the Washington Post on Monday in response to President Donald Trump’s treatment of her and her husband. Trump has not said anything about the piece.

Andrew was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on March 16, just two days before he had planned to retire. Trump declared that his firing was “a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI” and “a great day for democracy” on Twitter. He singled Jill out in a later Tweet.

“The Fake News is beside themselves that McCabe was caught, called out and fired,” Trump wrote. “How many hundreds of thousands of dollars was given to wife’s campaign by Crooked H friend, Terry M, who was also under investigation? How many lies? How many leaks? Comey knew it all, and much more!”

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.

Jill ran for a position on Virginia’s state Senate in 2015 and received money from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In her op-ed, Jill explained that she had actually been inspired to run for Virginia’s state Senate after multiple people asked her to consider it, including Clark Mercer, the chief of staff to then-Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam, who is a pediatric neurologist and now the governor.

She said that while considering the possibility, she went to Richmond, Virginia with Andrew to meet with different politicians, including then-Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe. She said they never spoke about Clinton, whose email scandal had not yet broken. Jill ultimately decided to run because she hoped to advocate for those who she treated in the emergency room.

SLIDESHOW: DONALD TRUMP’S 30 CRAZIEST TWEETS

Jill also wrote that she took care to make sure her political plans would not interfere with Andrew’s political life in the FBI. After she lost the race in November 2015, she returned to her normal life — until, she said, everything changed a year later.

“A reporter called my cellphone on a Sunday in October 2016, asking questions about contributions to my campaign and whether there had been any influence on Andrew’s decisions at the FBI,” Jill said. “This could not be further from the truth. In fact, it makes no sense. Andrew’s involvement in the Clinton investigation came not only after the contributions were made to my campaign but also after the race was over. Since that news report, there have been thousands more, repeating the false allegation that there was some connection between my campaign and my husband’s role at the FBI.”

She wrote that after Trump’s election, she had hoped the whole mess would be over. After he fired former FBI Director James Comey, though, Jill said she knew Andrew could be Trump’s next target, and Trump’s tweets about Andrew and herself did not help either.

“To have my personal reputation and integrity and those of my family attacked this way is beyond horrible,” Jill wrote. “It feels awful every day. It keeps me up nights. I made the decision to run for office because I was trying to help people. Instead, it turned into something that was used to attack our family, my husband’s career and the entire FBI.”

Jill wrote about using her work to find peace, and she said she still wants to fight for Medicaid for all, though she will not run for office again.

“Now that I can speak on my own behalf, I want people to know that the whole story that everything is based on is just false and utterly absurd,” Jill wrote. “No matter what the path ahead, I have faith that our family will get through this. Despite everything, we are closer than ever. Andrew and I have amazing children and a support network that knows who we truly are. We will not allow ourselves to be defined by a false narrative.”

Natasha Roy

Recent Posts

Federal Trade Commission Votes To Ban Noncompete Agreements

On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned noncompete agreements in a 3-2 vote. The…

3 days ago

California Bill Would Prevent CLEAR Passengers From Line-Jumping At Airports

A proposed bill in California would prohibit security screening company CLEAR from skipping the general…

4 days ago

Supreme Court Seems Receptive To Laws That Allow Restrictions On Homeless

On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over a challenge to a law allowing…

5 days ago

Arizona Republicans Block Bill To Repeal Abortion Ban On State House Floor

The Arizona House of Representatives failed to advance a repeal of the state's 160-year-old abortion…

6 days ago

After Oregon Recriminalizes Drug Possession, What’s Next For The State’s Drug Policy

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed a bill restoring criminal charges in cases of hard drug possession.…

1 week ago

Biden’s New Regulation Will Limit Toxic Chemicals In Drinking Water Across The Country

President Joe Biden's administration announced the first-ever national limits on toxic "forever chemicals" in drinking water. This…

2 weeks ago