Justice Department watchdog sends criminal referral on Andrew McCabe to US attorney

The Department of Justice’s inspector general sent its conclusion that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe misled investigators who were looking into leaks to the media to a US attorney to decide whether the ousted FBI official should face criminal charges, according to reports.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., will determine whether McCabe’s disclosures to the media are a crime.

The inspector general sent the referral to federal prosecutors some time ago, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

The inspector general’s 39-page report determined that McCabe “lacked candor” on four separate occasions. Three of those times were while McCabe was under oath.

It's unclear whether McCabe will be charged with a crime after he misled investigators about the sourcing of an October 2016 article in the Wall Street Journal about the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server.