The political action committee of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat and longtime ally of the Clinton family, donated nearly $500,000 to the state Senate campaign of the wife of an FBI official who helped oversee the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server.

McAuliffe's political organization gave $467,500 to Dr. Jill McCabe's 2015 state Senate campaign in Virginia, the Wall Street Journal reported. McCabe's husband, Andrew McCabe, works for the FBI and was one of the top figures responsible for overseeing the probe into Clinton's email practices while she served as secretary of state.

McAuliffe, a longtime friend and adviser to the Clintons, encouraged McCabe to run for the state Senate seat and helped direct funds to her campaign totaling $675,000, according to the Journal.

The Virginia Democratic Party, over which Mr. McAuliffe exerts considerable control, donated an additional $207,788 worth of support to Dr. McCabe's campaign in the form of mailers, according to the records. That adds up to slightly more than $675,000 to her candidacy from entities either directly under Mr. McAuliffe's control or strongly influenced by him. The figure represents more than a third of all the campaign funds Dr. McCabe raised in the effort.

McCabe's husband was running the FBI's Washington, D.C. field office in July 2015, when the federal investigation into Clinton's email practices was launched. His office provided assistance to the email probe when his wife announced her candidacy for the state Senate seat. He was soon promoted to the FBI's headquarters, and became FBI Director James Comey's second-in-command in February 2016, the Journal noted.

As deputy director, Mr. McCabe was part of the executive leadership team overseeing the Clinton email investigation, though FBI officials say any final decisions on that probe were made by Mr. Comey, who served as a high-ranking Justice Department official in the administration of George W. Bush.

McAuliffe served as President Bill Clinton's chief fundraiser in the 1990s and remains close to the former first couple. He currently is under investigation by the FBI for alleged improper donations on behalf of a Chinese businessman.

A spokesperson for the governor's office denied any wrongdoing or improper relationship between the political donations to McCabe and McAuliffe's friendship with the Clintons.