The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump

Andrew G. McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI, was fired on March 16, 2018, just before his scheduled retirement after more than two decades of service. In this account, McCabe details his career and defends the FBI's integrity and independence in protecting America and upholding the Constitution. McCabe began as a street agent in the FBI's New York field office under director Louis Freeh. He became an expert in Russian organized crime—linked to the Russian state—and terrorism. Under Director Robert Mueller, he led investigations of major attacks on American soil, including the Boston Marathon bombing, a plot to bomb the New York subways, and several averted aircraft bombings. Under James Comey, McCabe was involved in investigations of the Benghazi attack, the Clinton Foundation's activities, and Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. The book covers the period between Donald Trump's November 2016 election and McCabe's firing, spanning two decades of the FBI's evolving mission to prevent terrorist attacks. McCabe argues that the greatest current threat to the United States comes from within, as the Trump administration ignores the law, attacks democratic institutions, degrades human rights, and undermines the Constitution.