'Were you the leaker to the New York Times?' Awkward moment Meghan McCain grills Andy McCabe on the 'lack of candor' that got him fired from the FBI

  • Fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe appeared on The View on Tuesday
  • Co-host Meghan McCain grilled him on whether he leaked to New York Times
  • McCabe was fired for what DOJ called 'lack of candor' in leak investigation
  • But denied on his current book tour that he was ever an illicit leaker 

By Keith Griffith For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

Meghan McCain has grilled fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe on whether he illicitly leaked to the New York Times, drawing a stunned reaction from the former lawman. 

McCain directly confronted McCabe when he appeared on The View on Tuesday during a media tour to promote his new book, titled The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump. 

McCabe was fired last year by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who cited his 'lack of candor' during an internal investigation into media leaks about the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails.

'I don't believe you're a reliable narrator and I'm not convinced this isn't just some kind of PR campaign to stop yourself from getting indicted,' McCain said to McCabe. 

Meghan McCain grilled fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe on whether he was a leaker to the New York Times when he appeared on The View on Tuesday

Meghan McCain grilled fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe on whether he was a leaker to the New York Times when he appeared on The View on Tuesday

McCabe looked stunned as The View co-host icily pressed him on whether he was a leaker

McCabe looked stunned as The View co-host icily pressed him on whether he was a leaker

'You were fired at the recommendation of the FBI, which, in your book, you cite four times how great of an organization it is, for your lack of candor.'

'I would like you to say right here on national TV that you were not a source for The New York Times. You were never a source for The New York Times, or any other publication, considering that is what you were accused of lying about,' McCain said as a stunned McCabe looked on. 

'Absolutely not, not at any time, ever,' McCabe replied. 

'When I was serving as deputy director, I was one of two people in the FBI that had the authority to disclose information to the media,' the disgraced FBI bureaucrat continued. 

McCabe is seen in a promotional still for his Tuesday appearance on ABC's The View

McCabe is seen in a promotional still for his Tuesday appearance on ABC's The View

'That is an FBI policy, it's baked into the way that we run media relations in the organization. So I transacted on issues regarding the media every single day,' he said. 

McCain then pressed McCabe on why fired FBI Director James Comey had testified under oath that he had not authorized his deputy's communications with the press on the instance in question.

'I don't know why Jim Comey doesn't remember the conversations that we had in the same way that I do,' McCabe answered. 

'It is understandable. He was under an enormous amount of stress at the time. He had a lot of other, kind of, more important things to worry about. I can't explain why he doesn't remember them the same way I do.'  

Meghan McCainPregnant CelebritiesNew York

Most watched News videos