Andrew McCabe, FBI deputy director fired by attorney general, launches legal defense fund

Kevin Johnson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption White House denies involvement in McCabe departure The White House is denying any involvement with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe stepping down from his position ahead of a previously planned retirement this spring. (Jan. 29)

WASHINGTON — Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, dismissed just hours before his retirement, launched a legal defense fund Thursday to help finance counsel for multiple congressional inquiries and an internal Justice Department investigation that is examining how the FBI and Justice handled the Hillary Clinton email probe.

In a late-night announcement earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe, citing the former FBI official's role in the investigation of Clinton's use of a primate email server while she was secretary of State.

Sessions said McCabe's dismissal was the result of an "extensive and fair" probe of alleged misconduct by Justice's inspector general, which concluded that he had made "an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor — including under oath — on multiple occasions."

The findings of the inspector general's inquiry are expected to be made public in coming weeks.

McCabe rejected Sessions' assertions, saying earlier this month that the inspector general's inquiry was "part of an unprecedented effort by the (Trump) administration, driven by the president himself, to remove me from my position, destroy my reputation, and possibly strip me of a pension that I worked 21 years to earn."

For months, Trump had called for McCabe's removal in a series of tweets and public statements, often taking aim at the former FBI official's wife who ran unsuccessfully for a Virginia state Senate seat with the financial assistance of Clinton ally and former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe.

"Andrew McCabe’s FBI career was long, distinguished, and unblemished," a statement posted on the defense fund website read. "His reward for that has been a termination that was completely unjustified, amidst repeated ad hominem attacks by the president of the United States."

Andrew McCabe may have memos of Trump interactions Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe reportedly kept memos regarding President Donald Trump.

Describing the need for a legal fund as "a growing reality," the website said McCabe's lawyers also were seeking "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."

"However, no funds... will be used for anything beyond his defense of the allegations against him," the statement read.