FBI Official From Trump-Russia Probe Accused of Conspiring With Russian Officials Pleading Guilty!
A former FBI agent who was involved in the investigation into allegations that then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump “colluded” with Russia to win the 2016 election and later found to have conspired himself with Russia is going to plead guilty to charges.
The Washington Times reported that Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jennifer Reardon “wrote in an order that attorneys for the disgraced official, Charles McGonigal, wish to change their plea in the case.”
At first, McGonigal entered a plea of not guilty to four counts of corruption, encompassing allegations of conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions, money laundering, conspiring to commit money laundering, and conspiring to breach federal laws pertaining to engaging in transactions with sanctioned individuals, the Times reported, adding that each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The court has been informed that defendant Charles McGonigal may wish to enter a change of plea,” Reardon wrote in a brief order, in which she also scheduled a hearing for Aug. 15.
The Times noted further:
Mr. McGonigal, a former top FBI counterintelligence agent based in New York, is the fourth major FBI figure from the Trump-Russia collusion probe to face criminal charges or end up under investigation.
Federal prosecutors in New York and Washington filed separate indictments against Mr. McGonigal accusing him of illegally accepting payments for his work with Oleg Deripaska, a sanctioned Russian oligarch. Mr. McGonigal faces multiple criminal charges related to allegedly violating U.S. sanctions by taking payments from Mr. Deripaska in exchange for investigating a rival Russian oligarch.
There is no indication that he will change his plea in Washington.
Former special counsel John Durham undercovered evidence during his investigation into the origins of the FBI’s Trump-Russia collusion probe that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign was behind much of it.
This proposal aimed to tarnish Donald Trump’s image by “tying him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee.” The intention was to link him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee, a strategy that was meant to divert public attention from Clinton’s email controversies, the outlet reported, citing Durham’s findings.
The report also noted that then-President Barack Obama, then-Vice President Joe Biden, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and then-FBI Director James Comey were directly briefed on this scheme, referred to as the “Clinton Plan” in the report. These briefings were conducted by then-CIA Director John Brennan, who recorded them in his handwritten notes.
