Instead of planning how to spend his federal pension, now-former Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe must be figuring out how to pay the lawyers he is going to need.  Until his boss Christopher Wray, President Trump’s appointee to head the FBI, read the four-page FISA memo on Sunday (an extraordinary act in itself), he enjoyed protected job status. According to reports, Wray previously had threatened to resign if McCabe was forced out.

Officially, McCabe “stepped down,” but administration officials informed the media that he was “removed,” which suggests he was forced to resign. Using accumulated vacation time, he will be able to fill out a full twenty years of service and qualify for a federal pension. According to some reports, his accumulated vacation time was sufficient to allow him to have left office late last year, but he preferred to stay on for reasons we can only speculate on, but which might include running interference int he face of criticism.

Something changed Wray’s mind. We don’t know exactly what that was. The timing suggests that the memo itself contained damaging information, but according to a report in the New York Times, it was a preview of the forthcoming Inspector General’s report that led Wray to suggest a transfer of McCabe, and McCabe himself decided to leave rather than accept a demotion:

In a recent conversation, Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, raised concerns about a forthcoming inspector general report. In that discussion, according to one former law enforcement official close to Mr. McCabe, Mr. Wray suggested moving Mr. McCabe into another job, which would have been a demotion.

Instead, the former official said, Mr. McCabe chose to leave. In an email to F.B.I. employees, he said he was leaving with “sadness.” He praised his colleagues as “the greatest work force on earth because you speak up, you tell the truth and you do the right thing.”

At least he didn’t follow the practice of his former boss James Comey and invoke the Bible.

So, what is it that forced McCabe out? There are a variety of possibilities, including the possibility that his role in obtaining the FISA warrant used to spy on the Trump campaign involved misrepresentations to the court. But Sara Carter, who has been way ahead of the rest of the media in covering the FBI scandals, dropped a bombshell last night on Sean Hannity’s program.

Citing multiple sources familiar with the IG’s investigation, she stated, “There are indicators now that McCabe may have asked FBI agents to change their 302s -- those are the interviews with witnesses. Basically, every time an FBI agent interview a witness, they have to go back and file a 302.

Hannity asked, “Wouldn’t that be obstruction of justice?”

Carter responded, “Exactly. This is something the Inspector General is investigating. If this is true and not just alleged – if this is true – McCabe will be fired. I heard they are considering firing him within the next few days. If this turns out to be true.”

Watch the entire segment, including comments by Sebastian Gorka and Judge Jeanine Pirro below: