Trump reportedly asked former acting FBI director how he voted in the 2016 election


During a meeting later described as "disturbing," President Trump asked then-Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe a very personal and pointed question about the 2016 presidential election: Who did you vote for?
Several current and former U.S. officials told The Washington Post about the meeting, held last May in the Oval Office. McCabe, currently deputy FBI director, responded that he didn't vote in the election, the Post reports, but Trump wasn't done with him — he then shared his displeasure over donations McCabe's wife accepted in 2015, when she ran unsuccessfully for the Virginia state Senate. Jill McCabe, a Democrat, received $500,000 from a political action committee controlled by then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), a friend of Hillary and Bill Clinton; at the time of the race, McCabe was the assistant director of the FBI's Washington field office, and he recused himself from cases involving Virginia politicians.
McCabe, who was also serving as deputy FBI director when Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey last May, thought the conversation was "disturbing," one person told the Post, and his fellow FBI officials were also bothered by Trump asking a civil servant to share how he voted. The Post says this conversation is of interest to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump has tweeted several unfavorable things about McCabe, and Axios reported on Monday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has pushed FBI Director Christopher Wray to fire McCabe, and Wray threatened to resign if McCabe is forced out. Read more about the conversation, plus Trump's intense dislike of McCabe, at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Anne Hillerman's 6 favorite books with Native characters
Feature The author recommends works by Ramona Emerson, Craig Johnson, and more
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Book reviews: '1861: The Lost Peace' and 'Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers'
Feature How America tried to avoid the Civil War and the link between lead pollution and serial killers
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests