A retired FBI special agent has been sentenced to four years in prison on foreign conspiracy charges related to the Russiagate investigation involving former President Donald Trump.
In August, Charles McGonigal pleaded guilty to assisting a Russian oligarch in exchange for covert payments. A Manhattan judge sentenced him to four years in federal incarceration and imposed a $40,000 fine.
Authorities apprehended McGonigal in January on suspicion of maintaining ties with sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, for whom he accepted secret payments in exchange for gathering open-source research on a business rival.
The formerly prestigious law enforcement official pleaded guilty in August to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and money laundering, after previously pleading not guilty.
McGonigal also stands accused of accepting $225,000 in payments from a former Albanian intelligence officer. He is expected to appear in court in February 2024 to face this charge.
During his time in law enforcement, McGonigal led the New York FBI Counterintelligence Division and played a prominent role in the investigation into alleged links between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.
McGonigal retired in 2018. The investigation into Russian collusion, Crossfire Hurricane, was initiated due to concerns over speculative opposition research carried out during the 2016 presidential campaign by ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. Eventually, it was purchased by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
An investigation spanning 22 months and costing $32 million, Crossfire Hurricane failed to corroborate any allegations that Trump conspired with Russia to sway the 2016 election in his favor.
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