Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s legal defense fund will cease accepting donations to help cover costs associated with the myriad investigations into his conduct, after it far exceeded its original fundraising goal.
McCabe in a statement said that the assistance became necessary in order for him to “take a stand against the unfair way I have been treated.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, following the recommendation from an internal bureau office that handles personnel matters, fired McCabe the day before his full pension would have kicked in.
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The move supercharged the already bitter politics surrounding the federal investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia. As deputy director, McCabe was integrally involved in both the bureau’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email server and the Russia probe.
According to the Justice Department, Sessions fired the former career official over allegations of misconduct stemming from an ongoing internal inspector general investigation into the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email probe.
McCabe has fought back against the circumstances of his dismissal, calling it a politically motivated effort to undermine the Russia investigation, which is now in the hands of special counsel Robert Mueller.
“Here is the reality: I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of [former FBI Director] James Comey,” McCabe wrote in a lengthy statement at the time.
But he’s facing heavy scrutiny on multiple fronts over his conduct at the bureau.
Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz is expected to issue his report this month — and Sessions last week notified Congress that he has appointed a federal prosecutor to work in coordination with Horowitz to probe the myriad GOP allegations of bias at the DOJ during the 2016 election.
That official, John Huber, has the ability to levy criminal prosecutions — something some analysts warn should worry McCabe.
Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill continue to probe McCabe’s role in both the Clinton email investigation and the probe into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia.
McCabe, a career official, has been a longtime target of the right thanks to a state Senate bid by his wife, during which she accepted funds from Clinton ally and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D).
The FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of Inspector General (OIG) found McCabe made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and “lacked candor — including under oath — on multiple occasions.”
Trump had publicly goaded Sessions to fire McCabe as far back as the summer of 2017, calling McCabe “a Comey friend who was in charge of Clinton investigation.” The White House more recently has called him a “bad actor.”
McCabe’s legal defense fund, hosted on the online platform GoFundMe, has raised over $500,000, exceeding its original stated goal of $250,000.
It will cease accepting donations at 7 p.m. on Monday.