Prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have impaneled a grand jury to look into the case of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was fired from the bureau after investigators found he "lacked candor."

The Justice Department's internal watchdog referred McCabe to the U.S. attorney's office to determine whether he should face criminal charges in addition to having lost his job.

Prosecutors and grand jurors are reaching that determination now.

The U.S. attorney's office said on Thursday it would not confirm or deny any investigations.

McCabe's lawyer, Michael Bromwich, said that President Trump's administration continues to exert improper leverage on the Justice Department in a case in which McCabe hasn't done anything wrong.

"Unfortunately, such pressure has continued, with the president targeting Mr. McCabe in numerous additional tweets," Bromwich said.

He continued: "A leak about the investigation occurred in late May, very close in time to the news that Mr. McCabe had written memos that suggested potential criminal conduct by the president. Today's leak about a procedural step taken more than a month ago — occurring in the midst of a disastrous week for the president — is a sad and poorly veiled attempt to try to distract the American public."

The Justice Department's inspector general concluded that McCabe repeatedly misled investigators about contacts with a Wall Street Journal reporter in 2016.

McCabe's legal team says any discrepancies in his account were honest mistakes — not intentional false statements.

McCabe was fired earlier this year for what the Justice Department called a lack of candor, only hours before he was set to collect his full pension and health benefits.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.