Honestly, Bri, and I don't know if I can give you a sense of it.

It is, um, Thio have this horrific black cloud that's been hanging over me and my family for almost the last two years.

Tohave that finally lifted is just an unbeliever.

It's a relief that I'm not sure I can really explain to you adequately.

It's, um it's just a very emotional moment for for my whole family.

Tell me.

Tell me what it's been like then.

I know it may be difficult to even the absorb this news, which is so fresh, but what has it been like all this time having that as you describe it, a black cloud hanging over you?

Um, you know, it was it was traumatic to leave the FBI, certainly in the way that I did, Um, and that's been tough thio to live with.

And this the added insult and suspicion that comes with being under criminal investigation just made the entire experience a 1,000,000 times worse.

Andi, I have to say that as glad as I am that the Justice Department and the D.

C.

U S attorney's office finally decided to do the right thing today, it is an absolute disgrace that they took two years, um, and put my family through this experience for two years before they finally drew the obvious conclusion on Dhe when they could have drawn a long, long time ago.

So this was Look, many observers looked at this investigation, and they believed it to not have merit to your point that it doesn't have merit.

Obviously, you are not a completely objective party in that right, But so I just want to put that out there that there are a lot of observers, independent observers who looked at this and said, This doesn't make sense.

As you have said, knowing that, how would you know?

How do you describe what happened?

Did you feel like this was especially during a week where we've seen a lot of retribution?

Is, does this fit into that category for you?

Well, I mean, it's certainly, um look like all Americans.

I've been greatly concerned by what I've seen take place, um, in the White House and in the Department of Justice.

Quite frankly, in the last week and certainly the president's kind of revenge tirade following his acquittal on the impeachment proceeding, eyes only kind of amplified my concerns about what would happen in my own case.

I have said from the very first day from the very first day that we were notified by the Department of Justice that that news of what should have been a confidential investigation was leaked to the public, that if they follow the law and they followed the fax that I would have nothing to worry about.

But as um, as the president's interest in pursuing his perceived political enemies continued over the last two years, we were getting more and more concerned about where, where this would end up because, quite frankly, we are seeing things happen every day in this country that many of us never, ever thought we'd see here.

The pursuit of political enemies in the use of the criminal justice system and criminal investigations to exact some sort of revenge on those political enemies is not something that should be happening in the United States of America.

You are familiar with all kinds of investigations that the Justice Department and the FBI does.

How often do you have one that is this protracted and it just ends in a big nothing burger.

It's exceedingly rare.

I'm not aware of a similar situation in my 21 years in the f.

B I.

This was a very simple situation.

It was a very simple set of facts.

Uncontested fax.

Um, the I G makes criminal referrals to the Department of Justice based on their investigations many times a year.

And in almost all of those cases, those referrals are declined.

Oftentimes before the ink is even dry on the I G's report and for some reason, this one dragged on despite the simplicity the small number of witnesses involved dragged on for almost two years.

Um, and against the backdrop of how we have seen the politicization of investigations, I just think that's incredibly concerning.

And it should be concerning to all Americans.

Do you believe this was done on the president's order?

Well, I don't know.

I don't know the answer to that.

Um, it's It's Certainly the timing this week.

Coming on the tails of all the controversy over the Roger Stone sentencing is curious again.

It's a decision that I, I and my attorneys feel confident that they could have come to, ah, long, long time ago.

But nevertheless, they did the right thing today by by acknowledging that there was no place to take this and that no criminal charges should ever should ever be brought on it.

Where Where do you go from here?

I mean, this was hanging over your head as you left your position.

Is deputy director of the FBI facing a lot of criticism from the president?

Um, what are what are your next steps?

Will, I'm sure I know.

Just right away.

Um, I really am looking forward to celebrating with my family and friends.

It's been so unbelievably tense on just such an incredible pressure on all of us.

Um, and we're all very, very happy.

And I'm just I'm just so glad my kids don't have to live with this anymore.

Um and then beyond that, you know, I I I am enjoying finally having the opportunity to speak publicly about things that I believe deeply in about concerns that that we all have about about our country and the way things were going.

And I look forward to continuing doing that work and trying to add to the conversation in the most productive ways that I can.

Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thanks for you appreciate it.

And this decision on the McCabe investigation comes less than 24 hours after Attorney General William Barr seemed to signal his independence from President Trump.

In an interview, Bar said that President Trump's tweets on the Justice Department are troubling for him.

He said they make his job impossible, but bars take on.

The tweets weren't unknown to the president.

Bar had actually raised the issue with the president before the interview took place, sort of tipped him off so the White House wouldn't have actually been caught completely by surprise by comments like these theme.

The fact that the tweets are out there and correspond to things we're doing at the department sort of give grist to the mill, and that's why I think it's time to stop tweeting about Department of Justice criminal case sweets made about the department about our people in the department are men and women here about cases pending in the department and about judges before whom we have cases make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors in the department that we're doing our work with integrity.

I want to bring in Evan Perez.

He's our CNN senior justice correspondent and you know Evan this interview.

He complains about the tweets, making it impossible to do his job.

He also said, Quote, I don't look a tweets.

He also said, Quote, I don't pay attention to tweets and quote it doesn't affect my decision.

Just talk to us about your impression of this interview when you also add it to the MMA cave investigation being dropped, which the president is not going to be happy about.

Even as the president is happy that the Justice Department intervened in a very questionable way to lower the sentencing recommendation for the president's former confidante, Roger Stone.

Yeah, there's a lot going on in what Bill Bar was trying to accomplish yesterday.

He was trying to telegraph a message to the troops inside the department.

He knew that people inside were getting very, very upset and certainly questioning the leadership of the department because of the recent events in the Roger Stone case.

Briana.

But, you know, just be just be clear about one thing and that is Bill.

Bar was also saying in that interview that he was standing by the way he candle dhe, the Roger Stone matter that he overturned the recommendation from career prosecutors who were following the rules.

The rules under the Trump administration right, which is that they're supposed to be tough on crime they were supposed to support there.

The guidelines of the department says that they are supposed to follow the rules on sentencing.

So 7 to 9 years is exactly what the Trump Administration says is the policy.

And so these guys, these prosecutors ended up getting in trouble with Bill Bar for following the very rules that the department and President Trump say you know, they won't be tough on crime, you know, The interesting thing is, on Tuesday, the very day that all of this went down, Bill Bar gave a a very tough on crime speech to AA group of sheriffs who were in town and spoke all of the things about how we have to be very, very tough on people who are committing crimes and then, you know, obviously just a few hours later says that they want to go lenient on Roger Stone.

So that's one of the things that I think has been tough for people inside the department to sort of understand.

Where are we on this policy?

Are we going to be tough or are we just going to be tough on people not associated with the president?

That's been the biggest problem for the attorney general, and I think that's one of the things he was trying to accomplish in that in those comments to ABC yesterday.