Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe on Thursday said that the time has come to begin an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.  

During an interview with CNN, Chris Cuomo asked McCabe, "Do you believe that an impeachment inquiry is warranted based on what you understand and what has come out of the Mueller report?" "Absolutely, I think we are clearly there with the results of the special counsel team," McCabe said.

He went on to add, "there are so many witnesses who could provide important essential testimony to Congress that can only be done in the scope of an impeachment inquiry." He said "that action should be taken immediately," and that it is "beside the point" whether the inquiry results in articles of impeachment.

"I think the American people have a right to hear from the witnesses and understand exactly what actions the President engaged in, and they have the opportunity to factor that information into their decisions, their voting decisions, whatever that might be going forward. The time has come to get that information out," he said.

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe in March 2018, less than two days shy of his expected retirement on his 50th birthday, when he would have become eligible to receive early retirement benefits. Trump had regularly taunted McCabe and accused him of misleading internal investigators at the Justice Department.

McCabe's dismissal followed an inspector general report that concluded he had misled investigators about his role in directing other officials at the FBI to speak to The Wall Street Journal about his involvement in a public corruption investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

After his firing, McCabe fired back, charging that his dismissal was part of a larger effort by the administration to discredit the FBI and the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.