Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe
Andrew George McCabeCarter Page sues over surveillance related to Russia probe McCabe defends investigation of Trump before Senate committee: We had 'many reasons' The Hill's 12:30 Report: What to know about the Pfizer vaccine announcement MORE oversaw a federal investigation last year into whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsBarr exit hints at further tumult under Trump Top GOP lawmakers call for Swalwell to be removed from Intelligence Committee Barr to step down as attorney general MORE was fully forthcoming in his testimony to Congress about his contacts with Russian officials, ABC News reported Wednesday.
Top GOP and Democratic lawmakers learned about the probe last year in a private briefing with McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein
Rod RosensteinTrump turns his ire toward Cabinet members Ex-deputy attorney general says Justice Dept. 'will ignore' Trump's threats against political rivals The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump's erratic tweets upend stimulus talks; COVID-19 spreads in White House MORE. The probe has since been closed.
Sessions was not aware of the investigation when he fired McCabe on Friday night, according to ABC News. Sessions fired the FBI official for not being fully forthcoming with investigators and for making an unauthorized disclosure to the media.
McCabe has claimed that he was fired to try and undermine special counsel Robert Mueller
Robert (Bob) MuellerBarr taps attorney investigating Russia probe origins as special counsel CNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting MORE's probe into Russian election interference.
During a confirmation hearing, Sessions had testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had not been in contact with Russian officials about the 2016 election and that he was “not aware” of any other Trump campaign associates being in touch with the Russian government.
However, The Washington Post reported two months after Sessions’s testimony that the then-Alabama senator had met with the Russian ambassador during the campaign. He said that he did not recall the meeting at first, but did so after reading news coverage about the contact.
McCabe reportedly opened the probe after then-Sen. Al Franken
Alan (Al) Stuart FrankenHarrison seen as front-runner to take over DNC at crucial moment The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC - Trump, Biden clash over transition holdup, pandemic plans The Hill's Morning Report - Fearing defeat, Trump claims 'illegal' ballots MORE (D-Minn.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph LeahyBottom line Veterans healthcare fight snagging government funding deal House to vote Wednesday on a weeklong stopgap to avoid government shutdown MORE (D-Vt.) sent a letter to the FBI asking the agency to investigate all of Sessions's contacts with Russians and to determine "whether any laws were broken in the course of those contacts or in any subsequent discussion of whether they occurred."
Sessions had recused himself from the Russia investigation at the time of the criminal probe into his statements.
Mueller's team interviewed Sessions two months ago, Sessions's lawyer said.
Sessions has said that he did meet with the Russian official, but that none of the meetings had anything to do with the Trump campaign, to which he acted as a foreign policy adviser.
"The Special Counsel's office has informed me that after interviewing the attorney general and conducting additional investigation, the attorney general is not under investigation for false statements or perjury in his confirmation hearing testimony and related written submissions to Congress," Sessions’s attorney, Chuck Cooper, told ABC News.
A representative for McCabe declined to comment to ABC.
