The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has released the full file of the investigation into Charles McGonigal, one of the former top FBI officials, who faces two serious criminal charges.
McGonigal is accused, among other things, of traveling to Tirana with expenses covered by third parties and of receiving a sum of $225,000 from an Albanian-American. During his visits to Albania, he also met with Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The official document published by the State Department states that:
“McGonigal’s actions, while serving as a senior FBI official charged with overseeing sensitive counterintelligence and criminal matters, were egregious and violated the FBI’s core values: the integrity, accountability, and leadership expected of all its employees. Through his scheme, McGonigal intentionally undermined a significant criminal case, violated the public trust, and compromised the integrity of the FBI.”
Also, according to the file:
“We concluded that McGonigal misused confidential case information for personal gain and for the benefit of another person, in violation of 5 CFR § 2635.703.
McGonigal also violated FBI Code of Conduct 2.12 and the FBI Ethics and Integrity Policy Guide, which includes the ethical guidelines and prohibitions set forth in the Standards of Ethical Conduct.”
McGonigal faces two criminal cases: one in New York and another in Washington, D.C.
In the first case, he is accused of providing assistance to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who is under sanctions imposed by the US government, in order to have his name removed from the sanctions list.
In the second charge, filed in DC, McGonigal is alleged to have benefited from at least $225,000 and covered travel from two Albanians. According to the filing, one of them is referred to as "Person A," a naturalized Albanian American citizen living in New Jersey who was previously employed by the Albanian secret services.
This person, according to prosecutors, gave the money to McGonigal to encourage the opening of an investigation in the US against a lobbyist who had supported "a party different from that of the Albanian prime minister."
Among the serious violations attributed to the former FBI agent is the failure to declare monetary benefits and paid travel, as well as meetings with foreign officials - including the Prime Minister of Albania - which constitutes a clear violation of internal FBI rules and federal laws.
