US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has fired the FBI's former No. 2 official who was deeply involved in the agency's investigations of Hillary Clinton and Russia's role in the 2016 US election and was repeatedly criticised by President Donald Trump.
The move was made on the recommendation of FBI disciplinary officials and comes ahead of an inspector general report expected to conclude that Andrew McCabe misled investigators about his communications with news media and has not been forthcoming with regard to the bureau's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
"Based on the report of the Inspector General, the findings of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility, and the recommendation of the Department's senior career official, I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately," Sessions said in a statement.
McCabe responded, saying he believed he is being politically targeted because he corroborated former FBI Director James Comey's claims that Trump tried to pressure him into killing the Russia probe.
"I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey," he said in his statement.
McCabe's dismissal came two days before his 50th birthday, when he would have been eligible to retire from the Federal Bureau of Investigation with his full pension.
The firing - which comes nine months after Trump fired Comey - puts McCabe's pension in jeopardy.
It is also likely to raise questions about whether McCabe received an overly harsh punishment due to political pressure by the Republican president, who has blasted him on Twitter and repeatedly called for his ouster.
Comey's firing paved the way for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to tap Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is now leading the investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia. Trump has denied there was any collusion.
McCabe had stepped down from his position as FBI deputy director in January but remained on leave pending retirement.
