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Charles McGonigal

Frequently, in counter-intelligence cases, the prosecution tends to indict the most provable crimes, rather than the more serious. The most serious crimes may involve subtle tradecraft, and details might embarrass the government. Former Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI Counterintelligence Division in New York, Charles McGonigal, 54, of New York City, pleaded guilty on 15 August 2023 to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and to commit money laundering in connection with his 2021 agreement to provide services to Oleg Deripaska, a sanctioned Russian oligarch. The misconduct occurred while McGonigal served as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of FBI’s Counterintelligence Division in the New York Field Office from 2016 to 2018 and after his retirement.

As an FBI official, McGonigal had helped investigate Deripaska and other Russian oligarchs. In 2018, while serving as SAC, McGonigal received a then-classified list of Russian oligarchs with close ties to the Kremlin who would be considered for sanctions. In 2021, McGonigal conspired to provide services to Deripaska, in violation of the U.S. sanctions imposed on Deripaska in April 2018. Specifically, following his negotiations with an agent of Deripaska, McGonigal agreed to and did investigate a rival Russian oligarch in return for concealed payments from Deripaska. As part of their negotiations with Deripaska’s agent, McGonigal and the agent attempted to conceal Deripaska’s involvement by, among other means, not directly naming Deripaska in electronic communications, using shell companies as counterparties in the contract that outlined the services to be performed, using a forged signature on that contract, and using the same shell companies to send and receive payment from Deripaska.

Craig Unger wrote February 1, 2023 McGonigal "would have been in a position to leak the information about Anthony Weiner’s laptop that led to the reopening of the FBI probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails 11 days before the election. Finally, he was in a position to have been a source behind the false exculpatory news published by The New York Times on October 31, 2016, a week before the election, with the headline that seemed give to Trump a clean bill of health: “Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia.”"

"Ultimately, of course, America found out that none of Hillary’s emails were classified. The Times story on the subject was misleading at best. The “reopened” investigation was short-lived and appeared to reflect the wishful thinking of the pro-Trump leaker in the bureau, whether it was McGonigal or someone else. Likewise, the Times headline declaring “no link” between Trump and Russia seemed to reflect wishful thinking on the parts of Kallstrom, Giuliani, and McGonigal — not reality."

U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on 03 February 2023 sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray to seek more information about the impact Charles McGonigal’s alleged misconduct.

“These allegations are extremely disturbing and raise concerns about the potential impact this misconduct may have had on the FBI’s counterintelligence matters and criminal investigations,” Durbin wrote. “As a SAC for the New York Field Office, Mr. McGonigal oversaw many sensitive counterintelligence investigations, including investigations involving individuals he has now been accused of working to benefit. Mr. Deripaska was central to Paul Manafort’s ties to Russia, and the FBI New York Field Office used the former Albanian intelligence agency employee as a confidential human source in a criminal investigation. Moreover, then-FBI Director James Comey named Mr. McGonigal SAC just weeks prior to the FBI’s October 2016 announcement that it saw no clear link between then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russia.”

Durbin continued, “The Committee remains in the dark on the true extent to which Mr. McGonigal’s alleged misconduct may have impacted these highly sensitive matters, including whether he compromised sensitive sources, methods, and analysis. Whether his alleged misconduct materially impacted the outcome of any investigations or further compromised our national security also remains unknown at this time.”

McGonigal entered on duty with the FBI in 1996. Prior to joining the FBI, McGonigal worked as a corporate banker with a French-Canadian Bank headquartered in New York and worked in public accounting. McGonigal earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1990 in Ohio and completed a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in 2012.

McGonigal joined the FBI in 1996 where he served in various FBI Divisions, including, New York, Cleveland, Baltimore and Washington, DC. McGonigal worked extensively against Counterintelligence and Cyber threats, specifically working and managing Espionage, Economic Espionage and Insider Threat investigations.

He was first assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked Russian foreign counterintelligence and organized crime matters. During his tenure in New York, McGonigal worked on the TWA Flight 800 investigation, was assigned to the task force investigating Wen Ho Lee, investigated the 1998 terrorist bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, and investigated the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, McGonigal was assigned to an investigative response squad, which focused on pending international terrorist threats in the New York City area.

McGonigal was assigned to the Cleveland Division where he investigated white-collar and violent crime matters. In 2002, McGonigal was promoted to a supervisory special agent in the Counter-Espionage Section at FBI Headquarters, where he handled several high-profile espionage investigations. In April 2004, McGonigal was promoted to chief of the Asia-Near East Counterintelligence Unit.

In 2006, McGonigal was promoted to field supervisor of a counter-espionage squad at the Washington Field Office. In this capacity, McGonigal was in charge of many high-profile espionage, economic espionage and media leak investigations resulting in criminal prosecution. McGonigal managed and conducted some of the most significant espionage cases impacting the U.S. Intelligence Community including the conviction of former National Security Advisor Samuel Berger and Stephen J. Kim. McGonigal spearheaded and led national security investigations with the Department of Justice and the Department of Treasury against global financial institutions ING and HSBC in violation of International Emergency Economic Powers Act resulting in over $1.0 billion in fines.

McGonigal served as the section chief of the Cyber-Counterintelligence Coordination Section at FBI Headquarters. In 2010, McGonigal was placed in charge of the WikiLeaks Task Force at the FBI leading to the identification and conviction of Pfc. Bradley Manning for espionage related violations. At FBI Headquarters McGonigal oversaw standing up the Cyber-Counterintelligence Coordination Section focused on streamlining and de-conflicting National Security Cyber and Counterintelligence investigations.

In 2014, McGonigal was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the Baltimore Field Office’s cyber, counterintelligence, counterespionage, and counterproliferation programs.

FBI Director James B. Comey named Charles McGonigal as the special agent in charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office on October 4, 2016. New York City is a global center for espionage and counterespionage. Jeff Stien reported "The FBI’s New York office (officially, a division) was “Trumpland,” the source said. Per FBI tradition, McGonigal didn’t wear his politics, if any, on his sleeve, in Washington. But when he landed in New York on Oct. 4, 2016 he was suddenly thrust into an environment where a number of agents openly expressed their disdain for the Clintons and Democrats in general. "

Quoting anonymous “law enforcement sources,” the Times reported 01 November 2016 that “none of the investigations so far have found any conclusive or direct link between Mr. Trump and the Russian government.” It added that “even the hacking into Democratic emails, F.B.I. and intelligence officials now believe, was aimed at disrupting the presidential election rather than electing Mr. Trump.”

According to court documents, on April 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska for having acted or purported to act on behalf of a senior official of the Government of the Russian Federation and for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia affirmed the sanctions against Deripaska, finding, among other things, that OFAC’s determination that Deripaska had acted as an agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin was supported by the evidence. McGonigal had been in charge of investigating Deripaska, a billionaire crony of Vladimir Putin who has been implicated in several criminal acts over the years, including playing a role in covert Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.

Allison Guerriero said she dated McGonigal for a year, unaware he was married. He spent far more lavishly than an FBI salary would typically allow, she recalled, and she once found a bag of cash in his apartment. But after their fling ended, he revealed he was married and had no plans to leave his wife. She said she was so angry that, after a bout of drinking, she emailed his boss to disclose the affair as well as extensive dealings she’d noticed McGonigal had in Albania.

Guerriero did not stop her confession for the American network, One America News, where she revealed details of the former official's relationship with the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. "I was very surprised, very disappointed. It was easy for him to betray me and his family. I never thought he would betray his country. I believe he is a traitor,” she told reporter Caitlin Sinclair. Guerriero said that in an email she sent to the FBI, she did not use the term traitor. "I told them to see the work he was doing in Albania," she said. "I thought it started and ended with Albania. I didn't know that the rest of the Balkans were involved, of course I didn't know that the Russians could be involved as well," added Guerriero.

Guerreiro said the FBI believed her, and three years later asked about McGonigal's ties to Edie Rama. "They trusted me. At the end of November 2021, they knocked on my door. I was asked how often Charlie had gone to Albania, how many times he had accompanied Prime Minister Edi Rama, when he was here at the UN assembly. Charlie told me, I don't know if I can believe what he said anymore, that he took Prime Minister Rama to the St. George and that the dinner cost 10 thousand dollars", she claimed.

Asked if there are other people involved and if the FBI will fully investigate this scandal, Guerriero said "I believe that he is a traitor, I think that the number of accusations against him will increase." "I am almost certain that there will be additional charges, especially with tax fraud. That's how they caught Al Capone," Guerriero said.

One of the highest-ranking FBI agents to ever face criminal charges was secretly colluding with the Russian oligarch. “Charles McGonigal, by his own admission, betrayed his oath and actively concealed his illicit work at the bidding of a sanctioned Russian oligarch,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today’s plea shows the Department of Justice’s resolve to pursue and dismantle the illegal networks that Russian oligarchs use to try to escape the reach of our sanctions and evade our laws.”

“After his tenure as a high-level FBI official who supervised and participated in investigations of Russian oligarchs, Charles McGonigal has now admitted that he agreed to evade U.S. sanctions by providing services to one of those oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “This office will continue to hold to account those who violate U.S. sanctions for their own financial benefit.”

“Charles McGonigal broke his oath to defend the Constitution and turned his back on his duty to protect the American people in favor of his own greed by working for a sanctioned Russian oligarch,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “Every day, the men and women of the FBI protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. No matter the perpetrator, even if it’s one of our own, the FBI will go to great lengths to investigate individuals who put their own interests above U.S. national security.”

McGonigal faced up to five years in prison for each count and was sentenced to 50 months on Dec. 14. A federal district court judge determind the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

McGonigal resided in Chevy Chase, Maryland with his spouse Pamela and two children.