The New FBI Acting Director Thinks the Russian Investigation Is "Highly Significant"

The new FBI acting director is no stranger to controversy, nor being talked about by President Donald Trump. Andrew McCabe, the FBI's new acting director as of May 9, might not last very long at the helm of the bureau. Here's what you need to know, however, as long as McCabe is heading up the department. 43519818 He's one of the few directors who started as an agent. Unlike most directors at the FBI, McCabe started his career with the FBI in 1996 at the New York Field Office, spending his time on organized crime. Some conservatives aren't fans of his connections to Hillary Clinton. McCabe's wife, Jill McCabe, ran for the Virginia State Senate in 2015. She ultimately didn't win the race, but she did accept close to $500,000 in donations from Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. The governor is known to be a supporter and friend of the Clintons. The controversy arose due to McCabe overseeing the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email scandal. The FBI cleared McCabe of any wrongdoing, but conservatives still believe he should've recused himself, according to The Daily Beast. His top priority at the FBI involves stopping ISIS and terrorism. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times on May 5, McCabe spoke about his priorities for the agency. Most importantly, he wants to put a stop to ISIS. "That is the scariest thing for me right now," he said to The Los Angeles Times. "It's the broadening and intensity of the terrorism threat, the crowd-sourcing of terrorism, the flood of propaganda, the enormous number of folks who have become swept up in that propaganda." He believes the investigation of Trump's campaign and its ties to Russia is "highly significant." According to the Associated Press, on May 11, in a testimony to a Senate panel, McCabe spoke about the Russian ties and called it a "highly significant investigation." He also said the probe would continue and that no one at the FBI felt Comey was doing poorly, contradicting previous White House claims. "I don't believe there is a crisis of confidence in the leadership of the FBI," he said. However, McCabe is also under fire for talking to White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus about the Russian investigation, which broke Justice Department rules about such communications. President Trump is not a fan. During a campaign rally on Oct. 25, 2016 in Sanford, FL, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke about McCabe and his wife receiving contributions from McAuliffe. "One of the closest people to Hillary Clinton, with longstanding ties to her and her husband — the closest person, I can tell you that — gave more than $675,000 to the campaign of the wife of a top FBI official who oversaw the investigation into Mrs. Clinton's illegal email server," Trump said according to Politifact. "In other words, the man who was in charge of the investigation of Hillary Clinton accepted essentially from Hillary Clinton $675,000 that went to his wife." Though McCabe was in charge of the Clinton investigation in 2016, a year after his wife lost her campaign and received contributions from McAuliffe, Trump peddled this narrative anyway. It's unclear how much longer McCabe will lead the FBI, considering President Trump stated on May 15 that the search for a new director is "moving rapidly," reports CBS News.