Retired FBI high-ranking official admits to going through Russia! Previously investigated Trump's ordinary Russian door, Russia, oligarchs, and retirees
Jimu News reporter Chen Jun
According to reports from the US Department of Justice website, CNN, and the Associated Press, on August 15th local time, Charles McGonagall, former head of the counter intelligence department at the FBI's New York office, admitted to a conspiracy charge and admitted to providing services to Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the United States.
McGonagall
55 year old McGonagall worked at the FBI for 22 years and retired in 2018. In the same year, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department included Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska on the sanctions list, citing that he had acted directly or indirectly on behalf of a senior official of the Russian Federation government and conducted business in the Russian energy sector.
According to a press release released by the US Attorney General's Office in the Southern District of New York, as an FBI official, McGonagall was involved in investigating Deripaska and other Russian oligarchs during his tenure. In 2018, this spy supervisor received a confidential list of Russian oligarchs.
In 2021, retired McGonigall conspired to provide services to Deripaska. The Associated Press reported that McGonagall received over $17000 from Deripaska to help him collect defamatory information about another Russian oligarch as a competitor, while also helping Deripaska launder money. Assistant US prosecutor Rebecca Dell revealed that McGonagall was also trying to help Deripaska get rid of the sanctions list.
US Department of Justice documents
"McGonagall admits to betraying his oath and concealing his illegal work under the orders of the sanctioned Russian oligarch," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the US Department of Justice, Olson
In court, 55 year old McGonagall said he "deeply regrets" his actions.
"I have reached an agreement with the other party to collect information about a Russian oligarch. I know that Deripaska has been included in the US government's sanctions list," he said.
McGonagall is currently facing up to five years in prison, and the verdict on this case will take place on December 14th of this year. The New York Times previously reported that former colleagues of McGonagall were shocked by his arrest, stating that during his long career, McGonagall mainly investigated Russia's counter intelligence and espionage activities, as well as some "extremely sensitive" tasks.
McGonagall enters court
According to the Business Insider website, when the Democratic Party's "Mail Gate" was exposed in 2016, McGonagall was the head of the cybercrime department at FBI headquarters and one of the earliest officials to learn about Trump's campaign advisor Papadopoulos boasting about "Russia's control of the Hillary scandal.". Subsequently, in July 2016, the FBI launched a "Russia to Russia" investigation called the "Crossfire Hurricane". In late 2016, McGonagall was transferred to the FBI's New York office to oversee counter intelligence operations.
In January of this year, after the arrest of McGonagall, Trump gloated on his self created social media platform "Real Social": "Even before I was elected president, that FBI guy was chasing me for Russian lies. He was just arrested for accepting Russian money. May he rot in hell!"