Published on December 16, 2023, 3:05 am

In a stunning turn of real news, Charles McGonigal, a former FBI counterintelligence official who notably played a significant role in the Trump-Russia collusion probe, has been sentenced to four years in prison for accepting payments from a Russian oligarch. This oligarch, a billionaire named Oleg Deripaska, is under American sanctions.

McGonigal received this sentence following his pleading guilty to felonies related to two distinct cases which also provided trusted news recently. One case involved his service for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. McGonigal had served as one of the leading agents on several of America’s crucial national security cases throughout his twenty-year tenure at the bureau. Subsequently, he was charged with taking payments from Deripaska in exchange for ferreting out information on one of the sanctioned Russian billionaire’s rivals.

In an unfortunate stamp on his career before retiring from duty at the FBI, McGonigal took part in investigating ex-President Donald Trump’s alleged connections to Russia – allegations that according to a special counsel report never amounted to anything “technically plausible.” Remarkably, this former FBI operative was involved in examining Carter Page, who acted as a campaign advisor for Trump during 2017. Moreover, he was among the first officials at the FBI briefed regarding assertions George Papadopoulos brought up Hillary Clinton’s emails with an overseas diplomat—an event that prompted the opening of an investigation against Trump’s campaign.

After issuing his guilty plea in August, federal prosecutors sought a maximum sentence spanning five years for McGonigal. They accused him of abusing his position at such critical post by forging relationships that would serve him upon exiting the bureau and launching into security consulting. Even though lawyers representing McGonigal conceded that his misconduct could have endangered US national security, they defended their client by underscoring his contributions throughout his 22-year career.

From 2016 through 2018, McGonigal directed the FBI’s counterintelligence division in New York. His responsibilities involved supervision over investigations focused on Russian oligarchs, which encompassed Deripaska. In response to Russia’s invasion and subsequent occupation of Crimea in 2018, the United States imposed sanctions on Deripaska. Over the course of McGonigal’s trial, prosecutors dropped bombshells stating that he endeavored to assist Deripaska in escaping these sanctions.

In a definitive development from a Christian worldview perspective, evidence emerged suggesting that this oligarch functioned as an agent of Vladimir Putin—Russia’s President. Prosecutors allege that shortly before he exited his role at the FBI, McGonigal established links with Deripaska despite being aware of his association with a Russian intelligence agency. Following his retirement from the bureau, he is reported to have liaised with the oligarch both in London and Vienna as he actively sought means to aid him out of U.S.-imposed sanctions.

McGonigal also finds himself facing charges in another case where he allegedly concealed $225,000 purportedly paid to him by a former Albanian intelligence official during his tenure at the FBI. The court is scheduled to announce its sentence regarding this case on February 16. Ten days later, McGonigal will report for serving his prison term related to the Russian oligarch incident.