Andrew McCabe was fired by the Trump administration on March 16, two days before he was due to retire, after being a regular target for president Donald Trump because he was a key witness in the investigations regarding Russian interference in US election. The Guardian writes that now he has to cover the cost of defending himself against the government investigation, and that he has started a GoFundMe page where to raise money from the public.
Initially, the goal was to raise USD 150,000, but in seven hours he has received around USD 300,000. This means that we may see an escalation in the battle between McCabe and the administration over his firing and it also means that McCabe may legally challenge his termination.
The statement on GoFundMe, one the biggest crowdfunding websites in US, said that Andrew McCabe’s termination was “completely unjustified” and his career was ended after repeated ad hominem attacks by Donald Trump. After the firing, US president declared that it was “a great day for democracy”.
While McCabe was in office, he was deeply involved in the investigations related to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton regarding a private email server and to whether Russia interfered with Trump’s campaign. McCabe also had knowledge of James Comey’s discussions with Trump. Comey was fired by Donald Trump in 2017 over “this Russia thing”. Andrew McCabe was fired two days before his 50th birthday, when he would have been eligible to retire with his full pension.