Right now, the country’s faith in its political and law enforcement institutions seems to be falling. Trust in organizations like the FBI and DOJ continue to decline, according to recent polls.
And this latest news isn’t going to help — an agent involved in the infamous Trump/Russia investigation is going down.
Everyone remembers the much-publicized probe into a possible connection between former President Donald Trump and Russia. Reportedly, nothing came of that investigation despite critic pushback.
But something did come from a previous investigation into Charles McGonigal, a former Special Agent in charge of the New York FBI Counterintelligence Division.
That just resulted in a 5-count indictment and several very serious charges, including conspiracy and lying to the FBI.
The arrest also included Sergey Shestakov, a former Soviet and Russian diplomat who later came to the U.S. as an interpreter for the government. In this case, both men are facing the same serious charges involving a Russian oligarch.
Via The Daily Wire:
The two men were charged with allegedly violating and conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (‘IEEPA’) and with conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering. Shestakov was also charged for allegedly lying to the FBI.
The DOJ said that McGonigal, who retired in 2018, ‘supervised and participated in investigations of Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska,’ during his time at the FBI. Shestakov is a former Soviet and Russian diplomat who later moved to the U.S. and became a government interpreter.
According to a statement from the DOJ, McGonigal and Shestakov conspired to “provide services to Deripaska in 2018.”
The oligarch Deripaska wanted a rival investigated, and allegedly got McGonigal and Shestakov to do that. They also reportedly hid Deripaska’s involvement in the scheme by concealing communications.
The statement includes allegations of forged signatures, and using shell companies to send and receive payments from Deripaska.
The indictment adds that both McGonigal and Shestakov were aware they were violating U.S. sanctions. In fact, in 2019, the “duo worked on behalf of Deripaska in an unsuccessful effort to have the sanctions against Deripaska lifted.”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams says the state of New York will “continue to prosecute those who violate U.S. sanctions.”
Not long after this news broke, the Washington Free Beacon revealed that McGonigal was one of the agents involved in that Trump/Russia probe. In this way, the irony seems to be very real.
Apparently, McGonigal was also involved in the FBI probe into Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
As stories like these continue to pop up, the average American citizen has good reason to doubt the integrity of these agents.
The FBI and DOJ are definitely in the public crosshairs now, and many politicos like Newt Gingrich have said the corruption levels in these agencies is “unprecedented.”
Key Takeaways:
- A former FBI agent was arrested and charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions, and commit money laundering.
- He’s accused of helping a Russian oligarch go after a rival, and send and receive payments.
- A new report shows the agent was also part of the Trump/Russia investigation.
Source: The Daily Wire
