Fox Host Falsely Claims FBI Official Oversaw Clinton Email Investigation While His Wife Received Political Donation From Clinton Ally

Written by Media Matters Staff

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Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy falsely asserted that FBI official Andrew McCabe was “running the field office in D.C. directly responsible” for the investigation into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s private email server at the same time as his wife, Dr. Jill McCabe, received political donations from Clinton ally and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe for her campaign for Virginia state senate. Doocy also claimed that the timeline “looks fishy.” The claim continues conservative media's hyping of a misleading October 23 Wall Street Journal report. As The Washington Post noted, when Andrew McCabe was promoted to deputy director of the FBI “and assumed responsibility for the Clinton email investigation” in February 2016, “his wife had been out of politics for several months” after losing her race in November 2015. From the October 25 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends:

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe's super PAC gave nearly half a million dollars to the failed 2015 state senate campaign of Dr. Jill McCabe. She's wife of Andrew McCabe. Andrew McCabe is the deputy director of the FBI. Did they break any laws?

STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano is here to discuss. So, the same month, Judge, that it was revealed that Hillary Clinton had this email machine in her basement illegally, was the same month this woman started running for state senate, which was the same month this money mysteriously appeared. It looks fishy.

ANDREW NAPOLITANO: This is from the you can't make it up category. The answer to Brian's question, did they break any laws, is I don't think they broke any laws. But Director McCabe, he’s the number two person in the FBI. Jim Comey, Andrew McCabe. Clearly violated Department of Justice regulations, which require lawyers in the Department of Justice to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Tell me this does not appear improper, where the governor of Virginia, the very dear friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, who provided them with their first mortgage when they left the White House, dead broke according to Mrs. Clinton, to buy their mansion in Chappaqua, now gives $500,000, a lawful donation, from his political action committee in Virginia to the spouse, the wife of the number two person in the FBI.

DOOCY: But at that time, this Mr. McCabe was actually the guy running the field office in D.C. directly responsible for the email probe.

NAPOLITANO: Correct.