The Justice Department recently indicted four "fraudsters" in New York who raised more than $125,000 through a bogus "wounded warrior" charity to benefit themselves rather than to help veterans. It is a recurring problem for people who watch those constant commercials showing trembling dogs in wire cages or heartbreaking kids with cleft lips. Most charities fund legitimate, desperately needed programs but often are harmed by an unscrupulous few.One recent campaign has attracted huge donations based on dubious claims – and it comes from within the Justice Department itself. The cause is Andrew McCabe, and both the timing and the pitch are strikingly premature. Former FBI Deputy Director McCabe's GoFundMe page for a "legal defense fund" appeared after he was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Originally asking for only $150,000, the campaign continued to adjust its goal upward and, in a matter of a few days, surpassed half a million dollars. That is equivalent to more than a decade of McCabe's expected pension.
McCabe issued a statement today, saying that the legal fund "will cease accepting donations on GoFundMe" and acknowledging that the "donations have more than tripled the original goal." McCabe said in part that the campaign "began organically, with generous people spontaneously giving to accounts that others had set up. I never imagined that I would need to rely on this type of assistance." Yet, with reports of various investigations "and misleading information about the circumstances of my firing," he said, "the need for substantial resources for a legal team has become clear."