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Well, things just got a bit more interesting at our favorite law enforcement agency.
A former FBI agent that was involved in the Trump-Russia probe has been arrested.
As it turns out, the agent had ties to a sanctioned Russian oligarch.
Bombshell Arrest
Charles McGonigal is a former special agent in charge of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division who retired in 2018.
According to the Fox News report, he has been charged with “violating U.S. sanctions by agreeing to provide services to Oleg Deripaska, a sanctioned Russian oligarch.
“He was charged alongside Sergey Shestakov, a former Soviet and Russian diplomat who later became a U.S. citizen and a Russian interpreter for courts and government offices, through a five-count indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court Monday.”
Both men were arrested on Saturday.
McGonigal was not referenced in any of the Trump probe documents.
However, Fox News reported that he “was one of the first bureau officials to learn of allegations that George Papadopoulos, a campaign adviser for former President Donald Trump, boasted that he knew Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton, launching the investigation into alleged Russian election interference known as Operation Crossfire Hurricane.”
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams stated, McGonigal, 54, of New York City, and Shestakov, 69, of Morris, Connecticut, “both previously worked with Deripaska to attempt to have his sanctions removed, and, as public servants, they should have known better.
“This Office will continue to prosecute those who violate U.S. sanctions enacted in response to Russian belligerence in Ukraine in order to line their own pockets.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll added, “The FBI is committed to the enforcement of economic sanctions designed to protect the United States and our allies, especially against hostile activities of a foreign government and its actors.
“Russian oligarchs like Oleg Deripaska perform global malign influence on behalf of the Kremlin and are associated with acts of bribery, extortion, and violence.
“After sanctions are imposed, they must be enforced equally against all U.S. citizens in order to be successful.
“There are no exceptions for anyone, including a former FBI official like Mr. McGonigal. Supporting a designated threat to the United States and our allies is a crime the FBI will continue to pursue aggressively.”
I would imagine that Trump is smiling from ear to ear right now.
I have yet to see him post on Truth Social, but you know it’s coming.
