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"He was one of the 'stars' of counterintelligence," CNN: FBI agents shocked by McGonigal

2023-02-07 17:57:48Fokus SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"He was one of the 'stars' of counterintelligence," CNN: FBI
Charles F. McGonigal

With Bo Lill is and Evan Perez, CNN

The "insular" world of FBI counterintelligence agents was rocked last month when one of them, Charles F. McGonigal, once the FBI's top counterintelligence officer in New York, was indicted for selling the rights (access) to Russian and Albanian officials in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

After retiring from the FBI in 2018, McGonigal is accused of illegally working for one of Russia's most notorious oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska, who was linked to the FBI's Russia investigation through his ties to the former campaign manager. of Donald Trump, Paul Manafort.

Former FBI officials who worked with McGonigal told CNN they were surprised, disappointed and "upset" to learn the news. One called the accusations "terrible".

"He was extremely well-respected and really looked upon as a seasoned counterintelligence expert," according to a former senior FBI official who worked with McGonigal. "He was one of these 'rock stars' of counter-intelligence. When tough, very sensitive jobs came up, he was first on the short list of people to look for and you'd say, 'Hey, where's Charlie, what's he doing for the next six months?'"

Speculation has centered around the potential damage McGonigal could have caused if he exposed any sensitive information that could harm US national security. As a senior counterintelligence official, McGonigal had access to some of the most sensitive information held by the FBI, as well as that of the CIA and other agencies.

He would also have been knowledgeable about FBI intelligence-gathering techniques and methods, operations against Russian diplomats in the US and more, former officials familiar with the nature of his work say.

Some questions are raised about McGonigal's access to several high-profile investigations, including those involving Hillary Clinton and associates of Donald Trump. McGonigal helped oversee parts of both investigations.

All of which has sparked strong interest in McGonigal, including recently in Congress. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seeking a briefing on "the extent to which Mr. McGonigal's alleged misconduct may have affected these highly sensitive matters, including whether he has compromised sensitive sources, methods and analysis and "if his alleged harmful conduct materially affected the outcome of any investigation or further compromised our national security." House Republicans said Thursday they have launched their own investigation. Peter Lapp, a former FBI counterintelligence agent who once worked for McGonigal, told CNN that the McGonigal case is "absolutely heartbreaking" for the FBI.

The FBI sees a case of corruption, not espionage

Sources briefed on the matter tell CNN that, at least for now, FBI officials view McGonigal not as a spy, but more as a corrupt former official looking to cash in before leaving office. to retire. Senior FBI officials dismiss the idea of ​​McGonigal's arrest as a cause for embarrassment, promoting it as a sign that the Bureau is willing to investigate its own people who are accused of breaking the law.

FBI Director Christopher Wray, whose tenure began shortly before McGonigal's retirement, bristled at a question about the case at a news conference last week.

"There are some important things that are being lost here about that case," Wray said. "It's the FBI that started this investigation, it's the FBI and our agents that carefully and their practices put the case together against him and it's the FBI that arrested him... I think the charges in that case show that it's the willingness of the FBI- as an organization to shine a light on behavior that is completely unacceptable, even when one of our own people is involved, and to hold such people accountable."

After conducting assessments of the potential damage done to the intelligence information, as well as the resources and methods at McGonigal's disposal, the FBI was able to rule it out as a simple case of corruption, according to people briefed on the matter.

The FBI doesn't see McGonigal as an espionage case in the style of Robert Hanssen, the most damaging spy in FBI history. Hanssen spied for Russia for years while holding high-level counterintelligence positions, making dead calls to give Russia information that helped identify American spies and espionage techniques.

There is no suggestion in the public indictment, either, that McGonigal engaged in espionage. Current and former FBI officials who know McGonigal and his work say they believe McGonigal — a person who ultimately made the financial balance — simply got "greedy."

The former officials also refute the series of theories that have circulated on social media about McGonigal's role in the FBI's Russia investigation, particularly those related to his work for Deripaska.

McGonigal headed the cyber section of the FBI's counterintelligence division in 2016, when the bureau was closely tracking Russian intelligence efforts to influence the presidential election. But former officials say McGonigal did not have final decision-making authority in the broader investigation, which eventually included activities far beyond Russia's cyber activities.

Albanian contact

McGonigal was promoted to and handled some of the FBI's most sensitive declassification cases, including a high-stakes investigation into a CIA source who had been killed or otherwise lost in China. He was seen as competent, highly intelligent and hardworking.

But in 2017, exactly a year after being named head of the FBI's counterintelligence division in New York, McGonigal allegedly sat in a car parked outside a restaurant in the city and accepted $80,000 in cash from a person who had previously worked with the Albanian secret service.

It is one of the more shocking details of the two indictments against McGonigal filed last month in New York and Washington, which include charges of money laundering, conspiracy to violate US sanctions against a Russian oligarch and fraud against the FBI.

For nearly two years before his retirement in 2018, the Justice Department alleges that McGonigal effectively sold his right of access to senior U.S. officials, attempting to broker meetings for individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of of the person previously connected with Albanian intelligence.

McGonigal allegedly accepted at least $225,000 for that assistance, mostly by lying to the FBI about his activities, including numerous trips to Europe paid for by his Albanian contacts and taken without informing the FBI, as well as a secret relationship he had with the Prime Minister. of Albania.

Pasi doli në pension në vitin 2018, sipas padisë së Nju Jorkut, McGonigal shkeli sanksionet e SHBA-së duke marrë pagesa të paligjshme për të ndihmuar Deripaskën në përpjekjen për t’ia hequr sanksionet e SHBA kundër tij dhe për të hetuar një rival politik në Rusi.

Për disa zyrtarë aktualë dhe ish-zyrtarë, sjellja e McGonigal ndërsa ai ishte ende duke punuar në byro është shumë më “e tmerrshme”, siç tha ish-zyrtari i lartë, pasi akuzat kundër tij në lidhje me Deripaskën dolën pasi ai kishte dalë në pension.

Veçanërisht shqetësues, tha ky person, është pretendimi se McGonigal bëri që FBI të hapte një hetim penal për një shtetas amerikan, në të cilin personi i lidhur më parë me inteligjencën shqiptare pritej të vepronte si një burim njerëzor – por nuk arriti të zbulonte marrëdhënien e tij financiare me atë person në Byro.

“Kjo është serioze dhe e pabesueshme, e padyshim e gabuar – nëse ai ka bërë këto gjëra që ata pretendojnë, është diçka që duhet të sqarohet”, tha ish-zyrtari i lartë i FBI-së.

Hijet e një zemërimi

Nuk është e qartë saktësisht se çfarë e çoi FBI-në në konkluzionin se një nga agjentët e tij të kundërzbulimit mund të ketë tejkaluar limitet.

Fshehurazi, FBI ka hetuar McGonigal për vite, thanë njerëzit e informuar për këtë çështje, duke përfshirë vëzhgimin e tij për muaj të tërë.

Some who have worked closely with McGonigal say there was little indication at the time that anything was amiss. Peter Lapp, who worked for McGonigal on a China-related espionage case and was later fired by him, recalled to CNN that McGonigal had a temper and "shouted" at subordinates so often that the office had a nickname for his uniform. bottom: "McGonigal, hot shower".

"He was screaming so much he had to take a shower again," Lapp said

Asked if he had any reason to question McGonigal's behavior, Lapp was vague: “Even in retrospect, no. Just because you're a stupid boss doesn't mean you're corrupt."

Another former senior official was equally blunt when asked if they ever suspected McGonigal was corrupt. "Absolutely none, ever."


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