Charles McGonigal, indicted separately this week in New York where he is accused of concealing a business relationship with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, first began accepting the cash payments from the Albanian operative a year before his 2018 retirement and hid the transactions from the FBI, prosecutors allege.
Prosecutors say McGonigal requested and received the cash from the operative who traveled extensively with McGonigal, including to Albania where the then-FBI official met with the prime minister to discuss oil drilling policies that could financially benefit his Albanian associate.
Federal authorities allege that the first of three payments was delivered to McGonigal Oct. 5, 2017, in parked car outside a New York City restaurant where the operative handed over about $80,000.
– Kevin Johnson
Ex-FBI official arrested:Charles McGonigal, ex-FBI official linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, arrested
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy picks former rivals and new allies for investigative committees
Speaker Kevin McCarthy picked a mix of Republican allies and rivals to serve on two, new investigative subcommittees, including members who previously blocked his path to lead the House and his new supporter, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Greene, who was previously ousted from Twitter for spreading COVID misinformation, will serve on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic – which will investigate the origins of the deadly outbreak. That panel also includes Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas, who previously blocked McCarthy’s bid for speaker in more than a dozen rounds of voting.
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