The FBI is playing hide the ball with “internal records about ex-agent Charles McGonigal.” It’s no surprise that Merrick Garland and Christopher Wray would laugh in the face of Congress, they do it all the time. Garland might not be laughing much longer. There’s an effort underway to have him arrested under the inherent power lawmakers have to enforce contempt charges. This little episode only gives lawmakers more reason to give it a try.
McGonigal pleaded guilty
Charles McGonigal used to be top dog of New York counter-intelligence. In a bizarre twist of fate, he’s the one who “had handled the incoming tip that led to the opening of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Kremlin-backed election-interference.”
While he was persecuting Trump for bogus collusion with Russia, the FBI official was colluding with Russia.
Specifically, McGonigal “wound up being indicted for alleged money laundering and doing illicit work after his retirement for a sanctioned Russian oligarch.” That would be Oleg Deripaska. Jim Jordan and his House Judiciary Committee are threatening Wray and Garland with more subpoenas if they don’t cough up the records, quick.
The former head of counterintel at the FBI New York Field office is Charles McGonigal. In Jan 2023 McGonigal was charged with holding undisclosed meetings with foreign nationals including a CEFC affiliate (Dorian Ducka)
Meetings took place in 2017, while McGonigal would have… pic.twitter.com/O4ZDKI4mU4
— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) June 21, 2024
As Yahoo reports, “the FBI ignored a letter from the committee sent in February.” Since then, both Wray and Garland have learned that this Congress takes their contempt charges seriously.
The Federal Bureau of Instigation and the Just Us Department “may be attempting to hide the true extent of McGonigal’s misconduct to avoid further reputation harm to the Bureau,” Jordan spelled out in his letter. It’s hard for the FBI to tarnish their image much more than it already is.
Jordan’s been waiting for the records ever since McGonigal was indicted in New York and Washington back in February. “The bureau never responded beyond acknowledging receipt of the letter.”
Track and flip foreign agents
McGonigal held a senior rank inside the bureau. “As special agent in charge of counter-intelligence at the FBI’s New York City field office,” the official “was charged with leading efforts to track and flip foreign agents in one of the world’s spy capitals.” Apparently, he was tracked and flipped himself.
“A letter from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse drew a dotted line between McGonigal and leaks about the Hillary Clinton email investigation during the run-up to the 2016 election.” Whitehouse is a fellow Democrat. Republicans were focused on his connection to Crossfire Hurricane.
Everyone at the DOJ was convinced the whole thing was going to blow over since McGonigal reached a plea bargain with prosecutors in his New York case. They didn’t count on Jim Jordan, who’s doggedly investigating the “weaponization” of the DOJ against Donald Trump and also against We the People.
Ex-FBI agent, Charles McGonigal, was just sentenced to 4 years in Federal prison for ‘providing services’ to a billionaire Russian oligarch. He was charged w money laundering & conspiracy.
McGonigal is one of the highest ranking FBI agents to ever be charged with a crime. Not… pic.twitter.com/RL35f9FJ07
— ????????ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) December 15, 2023
“His committee has been hammering the FBI by hosting public hearings with special agents who say they are blowing the whistle about the bureau’s alleged anti-Trump bias.”
Considering the fact that Garland has already been found in contempt, and is facing the possibility of imminent arrest by the House Sargent-at-Arms, he’s probably going to want to simply cave in and get the entire McGonigal file to the committee by whatever deadline the letter sets.
Wray might find himself in shackles, keeping his boss company in the same cell. If they want, Congress can simply chain them up in the basement for as long as they like.
