House Judiciary Committee opens investigation into former FBI special agent Charles McGonigal
Rachel Schilke
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The House Judiciary Committee is investigating former FBI special agent Charles McGonigal, who was charged last week with aiding a Russian oligarch who sought to evade U.S. sanctions.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the chairman of the committee, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding documents and communications relating to McGonigal, such as work history, security clearance evaluations, and other related documents.
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The congressmen said it is following the committee’s continued goal to “investigate allegations of politicization and bias at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).”
“Just last week, with the indictment of former senior FBI official Charles McGonigal, the American people were reminded yet again about the seemingly pervasive problems within the FBI,” the letter read. “We write to request material and information about McGonigal’s misconduct.”
The Justice Department indicted McGonigal, a 22-year veteran of the FBI, on Jan. 23 for providing services for and taking money from Oleg V. Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with known ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the time, McGonigal was the special agent who headed the bureau’s counterintelligence division in New York.
McGonigal has been charged with “violating and conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act,” according to the DOJ, as well as conspiring to commit and committing money laundering.
The letter indicates that McGonigal’s indictment raises questions about the FBI’s counterintelligence efforts relating to the investigation into Donald Trump’s ties to Russia while he was a candidate for president.
Gaetz and Jordan also requested the FBI to arrange a briefing with members of Congress to discuss the investigation and assess the “national security risks posed by McGonigal’s collusion with Deripaska.”
Some of the questions involve how Russian oligarchs were able to “turn” FBI senior officials, as well as reviewing closed matters that may have been improperly influenced due to McGonigal’s relationship with Deripaska.
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Deripaska was indicted in September for sanctions evasion related to his Basic Element Limited company, which was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2018 for operating on behalf of the Kremlin.
The committee asked Wray to put together the briefing no later than Feb. 16.