US Secretary of Justice Jeff Sessions has fired Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI, just days before his official retirement.
"Based on the Inspector General's report, the findings of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility terminated Andrew McCabe's employment immediately," Sessions said Friday.
McCabe, who resigned from his post in late January, was fired two days before his 50th birthday, whenever he was eligible to retire from the FBI in full.
He had been targeted by Republican lawmakers and President Trump over his role in the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server as Secretary of State.
In another development, the US President Donald Trump on Friday ratified a bill that provides for closer US ties with Taiwan, angering China, which considers the island its breakaway province.
The bill, which is non-binding, would go into effect Saturday morning, even if Trump had not signed it, the White House said.
This development comes to escalate tensions between the two countries, following the imposition of tariffs that the US President is considering imposing on Chinese imports and his call to China to reduce the large trade imbalance with the US, even if Washington has rely on Beijing to help resolve tensions with North Korea.
