(CNN) The fundraising page for a legal defense fund for fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has managed to raise $500,000 within its first 48 hours.

By Saturday morning, the GoFundMe page had far surpassed its updated fundraising goal of $250,000, largely through small donations, since it was set up Thursday with an initial goal of $150,000.

"Although we know legal fees could exceed that based on the path ahead, we will not be raising the goal again," a spokesperson for McCabe told CNN in an email.

The page says the fund is intended for use in dealing with a Department of Justice inspector general investigation, congressional inquires, and potential lawsuits.

After more than two decades of service in the FBI, McCabe was fired earlier this month by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who said he was taking the action after the inspector general and the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility concluded McCabe had made "an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor − including under oath − on multiple occasions," which is a career-ending offense.

Read More