Ex-FBI deputy dir. McCabe launches legal defense fund site

Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has formally launched a fundraising page for legal defense funds.

The GoFundMe page has been set up "in response to a number of congressional inquiries that he will be required to respond to, as well as the broader Office of the Inspector General (OIG) investigation that is ongoing, and any potential lawsuits he might consider", CNN reported, citing McCabe's spokesperson as saying.

The site on Thursday afternoon showed hundreds of people donating between five dollars and 1,000 dollars each, totaling almost 60,000 dollars.

McCabe was fired earlier this month by Attorney General Jeff Sessions just prior to his planned retirement, citing the former FBI official's role in the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a primate email server while she was secretary of State.

McCabe, who was appointed by former FBI Director James Comey in January 2016, announced his intent earlier this year to go on "terminal leave" until he could retire and be eligible for full pension in mid-March. By retiring on March 18, he would have been able to get full retirement benefits.

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 GoFundMe description says McCabe's FBI career was "long, distinguished, and unblemished".

"His reward for that has been a termination that was completely unjustified, amidst repeated ad hominem attacks by the President of the United States.