Fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe (pictured) has charged allies of President Donald Trump with a systematic bid to undercut his credibility. | Pete Marovich/Getty Images McCabe, fired from FBI, launches legal defense fund

Andrew McCabe, who was fired as FBI deputy director by Attorney General Jeff Sessions hours before his retirement, launched a legal defense fund on Thursday to help handle multiple ongoing investigations as well as “any potential lawsuits he might consider.”

McCabe’s termination by the Department of Justice stems from a still-unreleased inspector general’s report that’s expected to find he lacked candor in answering questions about disclosures to the media in the runup to the 2016 election. But McCabe, 50, whose pension is now in jeopardy following his axing, has charged allies of President Donald Trump with a systematic bid to undercut his credibility ahead of his likely cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian electoral interference in 2016.


“The support for Mr. McCabe has been overwhelming, humbling, and deeply appreciated,” the defense fund’s website states. “He and his family continue to deal with the very public and extended humiliation that the Administration, and the President personally, have inflicted on them over the past year.”

The House and Senate Judiciary Committees are also conducting their own inquiries into the circumstances behind the inspector general’s report, which could be released as soon as early next month. The legal defense fund would cover compliance with those — as well as a possible lawsuit that would ostensibly be related to his firing — but would not be used to offset any lost retirement benefits, according to his team.

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“Mr. McCabe and his team are working to gain clarity around the lasting impact his firing — 26 hours before his planned retirement — will have on the pension and healthcare benefits he earned over his two decades of service to the FBI,” the fund website continues.

“However, no funds raised for the Andrew McCabe Legal Defense Fund will be used for anything beyond his defense of the allegations against him. He will continue to fight for the pension and benefits he deserves, rather than accept any crowdfunding for that purpose.”

Any money raised that remains unspent after the completion of relevant judicial actions “will be donated to charitable organizations of the McCabes’ choosing,” the fund’s website states.

In the wake of McCabe’s termination earlier this month, his representatives worked to deter grassroots contributions to unofficial crowdfunding sites set up by self-proclaimed backers of the longtime Republican official. The site established on Thursday, McCabe’s team noted, is the only official portal to donate to his legal defense.

