United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions sacked former Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Andrew McCabe from the agency on Friday, two days before his scheduled retirement. McCabe had resigned as the deputy director of the FBI in January.

Sessions said that he was terminating McCabe’s employment immediately following a recommendation from the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Sessions said that McCabe had leaked information to the media and misled investigators during a review of the FBI and Justice Department’s handling of the inquiry into the Clinton Foundation, a non-profit organisation.

“The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and accountability,” Sessions said.

US President Donald Trump praised McCabe’s sacking, calling it a “great day for the hardworking men and women of the FBI”, and a “great day for democracy”.

However, McCabe denied the allegations, and told CNN that his dismissal was “designed to undermine my credibility and my reputation”. He claimed it was an effort to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.

On Tuesday, Trump sacked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and replaced him with Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo.