 [Latest: FBI official Andrew McCabe asks Justice Department not to fire him] 
 
 The FBI office that handles employee discipline has recommended firing the bureau’s former deputy director over allegations that he authorized the disclosure of sensitive information to a reporter and misled investigators when asked about it, leaving Attorney General Jeff Sessions to decide whether he should fire the veteran official just four days before his expected retirement date, people familiar with the matter said. The recommendation from the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility is likely to add fuel to the political fire surrounding former deputy director Andrew McCabe, who abruptly stepped down from his post earlier this year but technically remained an FBI employee. But if he is fired before Sunday, he could be deprived of the pension for which he is currently eligible. If he is fired first, he could lose those. President Trump has long made McCabe a particular target of his ire, and the recommendation to fire the former No. A Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement: “The Department follows a prescribed process by which an employee may be terminated. That process includes recommendations from career employees and no termination decision is final until the conclusion of that process. We have no personnel announcements at this time.” 
 
 Sessions is traveling on Thursday, though other officials at the Justice Department still have to consider the matter before he makes a decision. Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores declined to discuss any aspect of McCabe's case but said officials are following established protocols for employee discipline. Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz has for some time been working on a report that blasts McCabe for allowing two high-ranking bureau officials to sit down with the Wall Street Journal as the news outlet prepared a report in 2016 on an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s family foundation, then misleading the inspector general’s team about his actions. The inspector general believed McCabe was not forthcoming during the review, triggering a disciplinary process that led to the recommendation he be fired, The New York Times and other outlets reported. The details of why the inspector general viewed Mr. McCabe as not forthcoming are not clear. No charges were filed in that case, and Mr. Trump has pointed to the donations to Mr. McCabe’s wife’s campaign as evidence of F.B.I. 2 for approving improper media disclosure, misleading inspector general] 
 
 McCabe, 49, had long been expected to retire on March 18, though he abruptly left his post earlier this year after his boss, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, was told of what the inspector general had found. However, Justice officials have stressed in recent days that his recusal does not cover personnel matters or issues related to the professional responsibility of department employees. The case puts Sessions in an awkward position between the president — who has criticized McCabe publicly and said he shouldn't be able to retire with his pension — and rank-and-file employees who might see firing McCabe as politically motivated. Trump has previously suggested McCabe was biased in favor of Clinton, pointing out that McCabe’s wife, who ran as a Democrat for a seat in the Virginia legislature, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from the political action committee of Terry McAuliffe, the then-governor of Virginia and a noted Clinton ally. The president remarked in December that McCabe was “racing the clock to retire with full benefits.” 
 
 The inspector general has since January 2017 been investigating the FBI and Justice Department’s handling of the politically charged probe into Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, which is separate from the foundation probe. The matter McCabe authorized FBI officials to discuss with a reporter came just as the bureau announced it was resuming its look at Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, though the article focused more on the separate case involving her family’s foundation. Recently released FBI text messages show that Barrett had talked with the FBI’s top spokesman, Michael Kortan, and FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who worked for McCabe, two days before it was published.
– Though he's left his Justice Department post, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe's retirement doesn't technically take effect until Sunday, when he becomes eligible for a full pension. And perhaps it won't at all. Sources say the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility has recommended McCabe be fired over the findings of a still-unreleased inspector general's review of McCabe's actions ahead of the 2016 election, including his decision to allow FBI officials to discuss an investigation of the Clinton Foundation with reporters, the New York Times reports. McCabe was found to have not been forthcoming in the investigation into those actions, reports the Washington Post, citing people familiar with the matter, leading to the recommendation. They say Attorney General Jeff Sessions has yet to make a decision, which McCabe could appeal. Still, DOJ sources expect the 21-year FBI veteran to be fired by Friday, putting his pension at risk. Such a move would be controversial, not just because McCabe would be the first deputy director fired in FBI history, the Times reports. The Post points out that going against the recommendation for termination would be no less controversial, since some might interpret it as the Justice Department "unfairly protecting McCabe." President Trump is no fan of McCabe: In addition to suggesting donations to his wife's unsuccessful campaign for state Senate in Virginia by a political committee run by Terry McAuliffe, an ally of Hillary Clinton, are evidence of bias, per Politico, Trump has previously called for McCabe's ouster and attacked him for "racing the clock to retire with full benefits."