White House aide Marc Short on Sunday defended President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE's attacks on FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, saying the American people deserve to understand his handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonFox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio Trump, Biden court Black business owners in final election sprint The power of incumbency: How Trump is using the Oval Office to win reelection MORE's emails.

Short was responding to questions about a tweet from the president earlier Sunday in which Trump railed against McCabe's handling of the Clinton probe, referring to him as "M."

.@FoxNews-FBI’s Andrew McCabe, “in addition to his wife getting all of this money from M (Clinton Puppet), he was using, allegedly, his FBI Official Email Account to promote her campaign. You obviously cannot do this. These were the people who were investigating Hillary Clinton.” — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2017

"I think the president believes the American people have a right to know what happened with that investigation," Short told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday."

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"Terry McAuliffe, the governor of Virginia, is perhaps the Clintons' closest political friend. He gave a $700,000 contribution to McCabe's wife when she was running for office. At the same time, they were launching an investigation into Hillary Clinton. The American people have a right to know that," he continued.

The president also took aim at McCabe on Saturday after reports said he plans to depart his FBI post in March, when he is eligible for full pension benefits.

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2017

He had earlier suggested McCabe might have been compromised by political donations.

McCabe has come under fire from Republicans for his handling of the Clinton probe, as well as the federal probe into Russia's election meddling and alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

He spent hours behind closed doors last week on Capitol Hill being interviewed by members of three congressional committees probing Russia's interference in the election and the FBI's handling of federal probes.