- Andrew McCabe is asking the public for $150,000
- Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe
- McCabe is dealing with “very public and extended humiliation,” according to a GoFundMe page
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is asking the public for $150,000 to help fund his legal defense.
The fundraising campaign, which was launched Thursday on GoFundMe, will help pay for “defense of the allegations” leveled against McCabe by the Justice Department’s office of the inspector general. Funds may also be used for potential lawsuits, according to the fundraising pitch.
McCabe was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on March 16, two days before he was set to retire, based on a recommendation from the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility. That office had received information from the DOJ inspector general that McCabe made misleading statements during interviews about his contacts with reporters prior to the 2016 election. (RELATED: ‘Confused And Distracted’: Andrew McCabe Makes Excuses For Firing)
The “lack of candor” allegation leveled against McCabe is considered a cardinal sin at the FBI. It is unclear whether McCabe will face any criminal charges stemming from the case.
The report will allege that McCabe directed an FBI official to speak with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal in October 2016 regarding investigations into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. McCabe was authorized to make contact with the press. However, the DOJ watchdog reportedly found that McCabe was less than forthcoming in interviews with investigators.
McCabe, 49, has publicly protested his firing, claiming he did not lie to the DOJ’s inspector general. He has also claimed to be a victim of a smear campaign orchestrated by President Donald Trump.
In an op-ed written for The Washington Post on March 23, McCabe denied the “lack of candor” allegation, though he did acknowledge that his responses to investigators “were not fully accurate.”
“When asked about contacts with a reporter that were fully within my power to authorize as deputy director, and amid the chaos that surrounded me, I answered questions as completely and accurately as I could,” McCabe wrote in the piece. “And when I realized that some of my answers were not fully accurate or may have been misunderstood, I took the initiative to correct them.”
He said that he was “confused and distracted” by the events occurring at the time.
“His reward for that has been a termination that was completely unjustified, amidst repeated ad hominem attacks by the President of the United States,” reads McCabe’s Go Fund Me page, which features a photo of McCabe with his wife and children.
Michael Bromwich, a lawyer for McCabe, confirmed the legitimacy of the fund on Twitter.
“He and his family continue to deal with the very public and extended humiliation that the Administration, and the President personally, have inflicted on them over the past year,” the page reads.
“Unfortunately, the need for a legal defense fund is a growing reality,” it continues. “Media reports indicate that at a minimum, there are 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.”
McCabe and his legal team “are working to gain clarity around the lasting impact” that his firing will have on his pension and healthcare benefits, the page says.
The fundraiser says that funds will not be used “for anything beyond his defense of the allegations against him.”
“He will continue to fight for the pension and benefits he deserves, rather than accept any crowdfunding for that purpose,” according to the page.
Any money left over after legal proceedings have ended will be donated to a charity of McCabe’s choosing.
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