Trump's Russian Collusion

[dislaxxic]

Hey! Geddaloada DAT! It's the old "I know you are, but what am i" defense from 2nd grade.

The second grade understanding of politics that MAGAts like Ban-doofus display here daily....

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! THIS is what is defending the criminal Trump cartel these days...SO convincing!

Boycott stupid...

..

[MDlaxfan76]

Hey! Geddaloada DAT! It's the old "I know you are, but what am i" defense from 2nd grade.

The second grade understanding of politics that MAGAts like Ban-doofus display here daily....

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! THIS is what is defending the criminal Trump cartel these days...SO convincing!

Boycott stupid...

..

Worse...it's a ridiculous lie about Biden and he surely knows it.
Yet, that's the garbage MAGA is peddling.
They've figured out that the voters they seek don't care in the slightest about truth.
They just want a fight.

[dislaxxic]

Trump lawyer sanctioned by judge in Danchenko court case Wow, what a surprise...

Lawyer Alina Habba sanctioned for misrepresenting all sorts of "allegations" made by Trump, his lawyers and other rightwing frothers in the Dossier matter...

..

[Seacoaster(1)]

Trump lawyer sanctioned by judge in Danchenko court case Wow, what a surprise...

Lawyer Alina Habba sanctioned for misrepresenting all sorts of "allegations" made by Trump, his lawyers and other rightwing frothers in the Dossier matter...

..

Notice from the Understatement Department: "It’s fun to laugh at Habba getting called out."

[old salt]

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/01/ ... blic-life/

The Conspiracy Theory That Deranged American Public Life

By RICH LOWRY, January 10, 2023

Not all conspiracy theories are created equal.

The same people who pride themselves on rigorously insisting on the facts — ideally, explained in the dulcet tones of an NPR anchor — are happy to embrace conspiracy theories supportive of their own worldview.

This is why the idea that Russian disinformation on social media influenced or even decided the 2016 election has gained such purchase, even though a new study finds, unsurprisingly, no evidence for it.

The overwhelming focus on the Russian influence operation in the wake of 2016 was classic conspiratorial thinking — an unusual or unwelcome event, namely Trump’s shocking victory, was attributed to the machinations of a small, shadowy group of malefactors.

This fevered notion fueled Democratic 2016 election denialism; catalyzed a federal investigation into Trump that was senseless and disruptive; created a cottage industry of supposed disinformation experts; pushed social-media companies into exercising rank political censorship in the name of fact-based content moderation; led to the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story; and distorted the work of the FBI, which made itself an adjunct of the progressive crusade against such supposedly pervasive and incredibly consequential disinformation.

The effects of all of this are still with us today. The panic over disinformation is the backdrop to many of the “Twitter files” releases, which will be followed up with hearings by House Republicans.

It always seemed unlikely that a challenge beyond the grasp of American politicos with endless resources and extensive knowledge of our political system — namely, swaying an election based on some random, not-very-good social-media posts — would be easily within reach of clueless Russians wielding a bunch of bots.

The new report published by Nature Communications (affiliated with the famous journal Nature) is the product of a yearslong research project led by New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics. For technical reasons, the study focuses on Twitter, although surely its findings are more generally applicable.

It found that even though the scale of the Russian efforts sounds vast (an estimated 32 million Twitter users exposed to Russia-sponsored posts — egads!), its reach and measurable effect were negligible.

According to the report, which relied on a detailed survey of a subset of Twitter users, 1 percent of people on Twitter accounted for 70 percent of exposure to Russian tweets, and 10 percent for 98 percent of exposure.

In other words, this was not a widespread phenomenon. Indeed, the median exposure to Russian accounts the last month of the election was zero because overall exposure was so tiny.

As one might expect, the Russian accounts were “overshadowed — by at least an order of magnitude — by content from ordinary domestic political news media and U.S. political candidates.”

Was the Russian disinformation carefully targeted for political effect? No. It turns out that the Internet Research Agency, the outfit in charge of the bots, didn’t know how to target American swing voters (maybe they are better at this when trying to influence by-elections in Vladivostok).

The Russian accounts were disproportionately seen by strong Republicans. These weren’t people sitting on the fence, who then saw some crude anti-Hillary meme on social media and thought, “That clinches it — now I can’t vote for the Democrat I’ve disdained literally for decades.”

The study found, naturally, “The relationship between the number of posts from Russian foreign influence accounts that users are exposed to and voting for Donald Trump is near zero.” Nor did Russian posts influence attitudes toward the issues or drive increased polarization.

It turns out that random drivel produced by foreigners and thrown into the enormous, all-consuming maw of American social media doesn’t have much effect.

If the report’s findings were more politically convenient, they would be spread far and wide by traditional media outlets urging everyone to accept its conclusions as “science.”

In the end, it turns out, the biggest success of the Russian operation was driving a segment of American political opinion completely mad.

[Typical Lax Dad]

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/01/ ... blic-life/

The Conspiracy Theory That Deranged American Public Life

By RICH LOWRY, January 10, 2023

Not all conspiracy theories are created equal.

The same people who pride themselves on rigorously insisting on the facts — ideally, explained in the dulcet tones of an NPR anchor — are happy to embrace conspiracy theories supportive of their own worldview.

This is why the idea that Russian disinformation on social media influenced or even decided the 2016 election has gained such purchase, even though a new study finds, unsurprisingly, no evidence for it.

The overwhelming focus on the Russian influence operation in the wake of 2016 was classic conspiratorial thinking — an unusual or unwelcome event, namely Trump’s shocking victory, was attributed to the machinations of a small, shadowy group of malefactors.

This fevered notion fueled Democratic 2016 election denialism; catalyzed a federal investigation into Trump that was senseless and disruptive; created a cottage industry of supposed disinformation experts; pushed social-media companies into exercising rank political censorship in the name of fact-based content moderation; led to the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story; and distorted the work of the FBI, which made itself an adjunct of the progressive crusade against such supposedly pervasive and incredibly consequential disinformation.

The effects of all of this are still with us today. The panic over disinformation is the backdrop to many of the “Twitter files” releases, which will be followed up with hearings by House Republicans.

It always seemed unlikely that a challenge beyond the grasp of American politicos with endless resources and extensive knowledge of our political system — namely, swaying an election based on some random, not-very-good social-media posts — would be easily within reach of clueless Russians wielding a bunch of bots.

The new report published by Nature Communications (affiliated with the famous journal Nature) is the product of a yearslong research project led by New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics. For technical reasons, the study focuses on Twitter, although surely its findings are more generally applicable.

It found that even though the scale of the Russian efforts sounds vast (an estimated 32 million Twitter users exposed to Russia-sponsored posts — egads!), its reach and measurable effect were negligible.

According to the report, which relied on a detailed survey of a subset of Twitter users, 1 percent of people on Twitter accounted for 70 percent of exposure to Russian tweets, and 10 percent for 98 percent of exposure.

In other words, this was not a widespread phenomenon. Indeed, the median exposure to Russian accounts the last month of the election was zero because overall exposure was so tiny.

As one might expect, the Russian accounts were “overshadowed — by at least an order of magnitude — by content from ordinary domestic political news media and U.S. political candidates.”

Was the Russian disinformation carefully targeted for political effect? No. It turns out that the Internet Research Agency, the outfit in charge of the bots, didn’t know how to target American swing voters (maybe they are better at this when trying to influence by-elections in Vladivostok).

The Russian accounts were disproportionately seen by strong Republicans. These weren’t people sitting on the fence, who then saw some crude anti-Hillary meme on social media and thought, “That clinches it — now I can’t vote for the Democrat I’ve disdained literally for decades.”

The study found, naturally, “The relationship between the number of posts from Russian foreign influence accounts that users are exposed to and voting for Donald Trump is near zero.” Nor did Russian posts influence attitudes toward the issues or drive increased polarization.

It turns out that random drivel produced by foreigners and thrown into the enormous, all-consuming maw of American social media doesn’t have much effect.

If the report’s findings were more politically convenient, they would be spread far and wide by traditional media outlets urging everyone to accept its conclusions as “science.”

In the end, it turns out, the biggest success of the Russian operation was driving a segment of American political opinion completely mad.

When is Hunter and Joe going to be investigated? What’s the latest on the laptop?

[dislaxxic]

KASH PATEL WANTS THE INSURRECTION PROTECTION COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE WHY ROBERT HUR TRIED TO PROTECT PAST ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS

Meanwhile, Kash Patel is outraged that Merrick Garland picked Robert Hur as Special Counsel to investigate Biden’s mishandling of classified documents because, when and after serving as a top aide to Rod Rosenstein in the early days of the Russian investigation, he opposed release of the memo.

This guy Hur needs to be the first one subpoenaed by the new Special Select Committee under Jim Jordan’s authority on the weaponization of government and do you want to know why? Because Hur — we have the receipts, Steve, and we’re going to release them later — was sending communications to the Justice Department and Rod Rosenstein’s crew arguing against the release of the Nunes memo. Saying that it would bastardize and destroy the United States national security apparatus. This guy is a swamp monster of the Tier One level, he’s a government gangster, he’s now in charge of the continued crime scene cover-up, which is why the first congressional subpoena that has to go out for the weaponization of government subcommittee is against Hur.

Remember, this committee was modified during the period when key insurrectionists were refusing to vote for Kevin McCarthy to include language authorizing the committee to investigate why the Executive Branch is permitted to conduct criminal investigations of US citizens.

the expansive role of article II authority vested in the executive branch to collect information on or otherwise investigate citizens of the United States, including ongoing criminal investigations;

It may be the intent to interfere in ongoing investigations into people like Scott Perry and Paul Gosar (who changed their votes on McCarthy later in the week, as these changes were being made) and Jordan (who will have great leeway to direct the direction of this committee). But Jordan may be surprised when he discovers that Merrick Garland will enforce the long-standing DOJ policies about providing Congress access to ongoing investigations that Jeff Sessions and Matt Whitaker and Bill Barr did not. Indeed, some precedents from the Russia investigation legally prohibit the sharing of this information with Congress.

But Kash’s complaint (back atcha with the rap gangsta alliteration, Kash!) is a bellybutton moment in which he attempts to villainize Hur’s past commitment to those long-standing DOJ (and intelligence community, including the NSA that conduct much FISA surveillance) policies. Consider the things the memo revealed, many of which had never before been released publicly.

Details about the dates and approvals for four FISA orders
Financial details involving private individuals, including US citizens
Contents of the FISA memo (but not their true context)
A reference to a Mike Isikoff article that appeared in the Carter Page applications; Kash was outraged when his own public article was included in the warrant affidavit targeting Trump
Details from a Confidential Human Source file
Misrepresentations about both Bruce Ohr and his spouse, the latter of whom was a private citizen whose work was shared with the FBI as part of the effort to vet the dossier
Direct communications with the President-elect the likes of which Trump claimed were covered by Executive Privilege in the Mueller investigation
False claims about the texts between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page that are currently the subject of two Privacy Act lawsuits; even aside from the privacy implications, at the time it was virtually unprecedented for texts between FBI officials to be released, even in criminal discovery (and many of these released, including some misrepresented in the memo, pertained to work matters unrelated to the Russian investigation)
In other words, Kash Patel wants to investigate Hur’s comments, made either at the time he was the key overseer of the Mueller investigation or during a transition period as he awaited confirmation to be US Attorney, advocating that DOJ protect informants, FISA materials, details about private citizens, and work texts between FBI officials.

The very first thing Kash wants the Insurrection Protection Committee to investigate is why, five years ago, a senior DOJ official advocated following long-standing DOJ policy.

..

[Kismet]

The there is this today -

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/fo ... -violating

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... -rcna66995

'Former counterintelligence head in FBI’s New York office arrested for alleged money laundering, violating sanctions on Russia
Charles McGonigal was arrested at JFK airport in New York on Saturday after returning on a flight from the Middle East."

[MDlaxfan76]

Deripaska, again. Manafort-Trump.

Nah, nothing to see here...https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 49781.html

https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-unseal ... 022-09-29/

[PizzaSnake]

The there is this today -

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/fo ... -violating

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... -rcna66995

'Former counterintelligence head in FBI’s New York office arrested for alleged money laundering, violating sanctions on Russia
Charles McGonigal was arrested at JFK airport in New York on Saturday after returning on a flight from the Middle East."

What puzzles me is how these dumbaszes don't realize they will get caught, and part of the reason (maybe the largest) for the bribery is just getting them to take the bribe and compromise their integrity and by extension the reputation of the federal government. They forgot the vow of poverty that accompanies public service (with the notable exception of the MIC revolving-door "greenstamps" program). If Generalissimo Flynn had just stayed in-country and fed at the MIC trough he would have been golden. But he fcuked up and cozied up to Erdogan and dog knows who else.

[youthathletics]

The there is this today -

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/fo ... -violating

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... -rcna66995

'Former counterintelligence head in FBI’s New York office arrested for alleged money laundering, violating sanctions on Russia
Charles McGonigal was arrested at JFK airport in New York on Saturday after returning on a flight from the Middle East."

How coincidental, meaning Trump was right about the FBI.

https://twitter.com/RepTroyNehls/status ... wqElaHd2bA

[a fan]

The there is this today -

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/fo ... -violating

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... -rcna66995

'Former counterintelligence head in FBI’s New York office arrested for alleged money laundering, violating sanctions on Russia
Charles McGonigal was arrested at JFK airport in New York on Saturday after returning on a flight from the Middle East."

How coincidental, meaning Trump was right about the FBI.

https://twitter.com/RepTroyNehls/status ... wqElaHd2bA

Nope.

The FBI arrested him, my man. DoJ is prosecuting him. How is this possible if they're all part of the Deep State that you and Trump claimed?

I'll wait. Good luck coming up with an answer. You added 2+2 and came up with 22.

Here's my non-tinfoil hat interpretation. There is no Deep State. And the FBI goes after and catches criminals. Hence the TeamTrump felony convictions, with this lone ex-FBI agent arrested for taking money from a Russian that has sanctions on him.


You and FoxNation "forgot" that both Trump and Foxnation mocked these sanctions when Obama did them. Called them pointless, remember? Toothless and weak.

And now that these sanctions catch a former FBI agent, you're here to tell us these sanctions are Super Cool! Sweet!

This is how TinFoilHatNation works, YA.....you never, ever, under any circumstances, tell the ENTIRE story.

[MDlaxfan76]

sheesh, twitter thread linking Epoch Times as the conduit of "news".

Anyone wondering whether this guy was on the take during the Mueller investigation, undermining that investigation?
Working for Deripaska to protect him and Trump?

Deripaska-Manafort-Trump

Or are we to believe that this guy only went bad recently, maybe realizing all the top dogs were getting away, so why not just get some greenbacks of his own?

Or was he on the take all along?...the latter sure seems more likely.

[youthathletics]

The there is this today -

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/fo ... -violating

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... -rcna66995

'Former counterintelligence head in FBI’s New York office arrested for alleged money laundering, violating sanctions on Russia
Charles McGonigal was arrested at JFK airport in New York on Saturday after returning on a flight from the Middle East."

How coincidental, meaning Trump was right about the FBI.

https://twitter.com/RepTroyNehls/status ... wqElaHd2bA

Nope.

The FBI arrested him, my man. DoJ is prosecuting him. How is this possible if they're all part of the Deep State that you and Trump claimed?

I'll wait. Good luck coming up with an answer. You added 2+2 and came up with 22.

Here's my non-tinfoil hat interpretation. There is no Deep State. And the FBI goes after and catches criminals. Hence the TeamTrump felony convictions, with this lone ex-FBI agent arrested for taking money from a Russian that has sanctions on him.


You and FoxNation "forgot" that both Trump and Foxnation mocked these sanctions when Obama did them. Called them pointless, remember? Toothless and weak.

And now that these sanctions catch a former FBI agent, you're here to tell us these sanctions are Super Cool! Sweet!

This is how TinFoilHatNation works, YA.....you never, ever, under any circumstances, tell the ENTIRE story.

stay on topic my man. All I said was Trump was right about the FBI. But it is always fun watching the afan spin zone flip things all over the place. And no one said the entire FBI is corrupt. Only you are saying that…why?

[MDlaxfan76]

The there is this today -

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/fo ... -violating

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... -rcna66995

'Former counterintelligence head in FBI’s New York office arrested for alleged money laundering, violating sanctions on Russia
Charles McGonigal was arrested at JFK airport in New York on Saturday after returning on a flight from the Middle East."

How coincidental, meaning Trump was right about the FBI.

https://twitter.com/RepTroyNehls/status ... wqElaHd2bA

Nope.

The FBI arrested him, my man. DoJ is prosecuting him. How is this possible if they're all part of the Deep State that you and Trump claimed?

I'll wait. Good luck coming up with an answer. You added 2+2 and came up with 22.

Here's my non-tinfoil hat interpretation. There is no Deep State. And the FBI goes after and catches criminals. Hence the TeamTrump felony convictions, with this lone ex-FBI agent arrested for taking money from a Russian that has sanctions on him.


You and FoxNation "forgot" that both Trump and Foxnation mocked these sanctions when Obama did them. Called them pointless, remember? Toothless and weak.

And now that these sanctions catch a former FBI agent, you're here to tell us these sanctions are Super Cool! Sweet!

This is how TinFoilHatNation works, YA.....you never, ever, under any circumstances, tell the ENTIRE story.

stay on topic my man. All I said was Trump was right about the FBI. But it is always fun watching the afan spin zone flip things all over the place. And no one said the entire FBI is corrupt. Only you are saying that…why?

I'll bite...exactly how do you get "Trump was right about the FBI"?

Exactly what did Trump say and mean when he attacked the FBI as "Deep State" and "corrupt"?

Or did he say something else that you think this confirms?

This guy was getting paid off by the guy Trump pardoned, along with Manafort, who delivered to the oligarch 2016 campaign information, which very likely made its way to Putin's cyber warfare/disinformation crew.

And you see this as confirmation that "Trump was right"?

Or are you joking and just mean that Trump "knew" there were corrupt FBI agents (or at least one)...because they were working with Trump's Russian "friends" too?

[a fan]

stay on topic my man. All I said was Trump was right about the FBI. But it is always fun watching the afan spin zone flip things all over the place. And no one said the entire FBI is corrupt.

I am on topic, my man. You're claiming Trump was right about your Deep State.

You're wrong. Sorry, man. Don't know what to tell you.

As for "no one said the entire FBI is corrupt".... sell it somewhere else. You guys made wild accusations about your Deep State whenever it suited you. And, naturally, could never manage to give any specifics whenever anyone cornered you (or other posters) into giving us specific people involved in your Deep State. That was the game you played, my man. "They're everywhere, maaaaaan".

And now you want to pretend you didn't do that? Sell it to the guy who didn't have to put up with this nonsense from you cats for seven years, and counting.

[youthathletics]

stay on topic my man. All I said was Trump was right about the FBI. But it is always fun watching the afan spin zone flip things all over the place. And no one said the entire FBI is corrupt.

I am on topic, my man. You're claiming Trump was right about your Deep State.

You're wrong. Sorry, man. Don't know what to tell you.

As for "no one said the entire FBI is corrupt".... sell it somewhere else. You guys made wild accusations about your Deep State whenever it suited you. And, naturally, could never manage to give any specifics whenever anyone cornered you (or other posters) into giving us specific people involved in your Deep State. That was the game you played, my man. "They're everywhere, maaaaaan".

And now you want to pretend you didn't do that? Sell it to the guy who didn't have to put up with this nonsense from you cats for seven years, and counting.

Well, I suppose you have a point since there is no plural for FBI…..which makes you think you are correct about slinging us all in the camp of every agent.

[a fan]

stay on topic my man. All I said was Trump was right about the FBI. But it is always fun watching the afan spin zone flip things all over the place. And no one said the entire FBI is corrupt.

I am on topic, my man. You're claiming Trump was right about your Deep State.

You're wrong. Sorry, man. Don't know what to tell you.

As for "no one said the entire FBI is corrupt".... sell it somewhere else. You guys made wild accusations about your Deep State whenever it suited you. And, naturally, could never manage to give any specifics whenever anyone cornered you (or other posters) into giving us specific people involved in your Deep State. That was the game you played, my man. "They're everywhere, maaaaaan".

And now you want to pretend you didn't do that? Sell it to the guy who didn't have to put up with this nonsense from you cats for seven years, and counting.

Well, I suppose you have a point since there is no plural for FBI…..which makes you think you are correct about slinging us all in the camp of every agent.

You have to cut me slack, my man. For seven ......seven years.....I had to hear about this Deep State. When I pressed you guys for "name them"...you all refused to do it, and continued to make blanket statements about the corrupt FBI and DoJ.

Next time? Name names if you want to claim that "you didn't mean the entire FBI and DoJ". That's how this works. You don't get to tar and feather an entire organization as your Deep State....and then claim later that you didn't do that.

I listened earnestly, and patiently waited for this evidence of this Deep State conspiracy....remember your "this leads to Obama's desk" claims?. And now that we have no evidence of this conspiracy?

Folks want to go back to the same half-wit logic about a Deep State..... except this ex- FBI guy was caught by the FBI in the very sanctions that Trump-fans told us were toothless and stupid. Which tells you that, of course, THERE IS NO DEEP STATE, and the FBI is just catching people who break laws. They caught this guy, and caught members of TeamTrump who broke laws, and lied any time anyone, anywhere said the word "Russia".

So I'm not having it.

[Typical Lax Dad]

stay on topic my man. All I said was Trump was right about the FBI. But it is always fun watching the afan spin zone flip things all over the place. And no one said the entire FBI is corrupt.

I am on topic, my man. You're claiming Trump was right about your Deep State.

You're wrong. Sorry, man. Don't know what to tell you.

As for "no one said the entire FBI is corrupt".... sell it somewhere else. You guys made wild accusations about your Deep State whenever it suited you. And, naturally, could never manage to give any specifics whenever anyone cornered you (or other posters) into giving us specific people involved in your Deep State. That was the game you played, my man. "They're everywhere, maaaaaan".

And now you want to pretend you didn't do that? Sell it to the guy who didn't have to put up with this nonsense from you cats for seven years, and counting.

Well, I suppose you have a point since there is no plural for FBI…..which makes you think you are correct about slinging us all in the camp of every agent.

You have to cut me slack, my man. For seven ......seven years.....I had to hear about this Deep State. When I pressed you guys for "name them"...you all refused to do it, and continued to make blanket statements about the corrupt FBI and DoJ.

Next time? Name names if you want to claim that "you didn't mean the entire FBI and DoJ". That's how this works. You don't get to tar and feather an entire organization as your Deep State....and then claim later that you didn't do that.

I listened earnestly, and patiently waited for this evidence of this Deep State conspiracy....remember your "this leads to Obama's desk" claims?. And now that we have no evidence of this conspiracy?

Folks want to go back to the same half-wit logic about a Deep State..... except this ex- FBI guy was caught by the FBI in the very sanctions that Trump-fans told us were toothless and stupid. Which tells you that, of course, THERE IS NO DEEP STATE, and the FBI is just catching people who break laws. They caught this guy, and caught members of TeamTrump who broke laws, and lied any time anyone, anywhere said the word "Russia".

So I'm not having it.

Russia, Russia, Russia…

[Seacoaster(1)]

Quite a story:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... tment-fbi/

"The FBI’s former top spy hunter in New York was charged Monday with taking secret cash payments of more than $225,000 while overseeing highly sensitive cases, and breaking the law by trying to get Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska removed from a U.S. sanctions list — accusations that shocked the cloistered world of his fellow high-ranking intelligence officials.

Charles McGonigal, 54, who retired from the FBI in September 2018, was indicted in federal court in Manhattan on charges of money laundering, violating U.S. sanctions and other counts stemming from his alleged ties to Deripaska, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In his role at the FBI, McGonigal had been tasked with investigating Deripaska, whose own indictment on sanctions-violation charges was unsealed in September.

A second indictment, filed in Washington, accused McGonigal of hiding payments totaling $225,000 that he allegedly received from a New Jersey man employed decades ago by an Albanian intelligence agency. The indictment also accused him of acting to advance that person’s interests.

McGonigal’s alleged crimes may undercut Justice Department efforts to ramp up economic sanctions on wealthy Russians after last year’s invasion of Ukraine. The twin indictments are also a black eye for the FBI, alleging that one of its most senior and trusted intelligence officials accepted large sums of money and undermined the bureau’s overall intelligence-gathering mission.

McGonigal was arrested by agents from the bureau where he had worked for 22 years and where he rose to one of the most important counterespionage positions in the U.S. government. Given his former role, the investigation was run by FBI agents in Los Angeles and D.C. rather than in New York.

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said the case showed the FBI did its duty. “The way we maintain the trust and confidence of the American people is through our work — showing, when all the facts come out, that we stuck to the process and we treated everyone equally, even when it is one of our own,” Wray said in a statement. “We hold ourselves to the highest standard, and our focus will remain on our mission and on doing the right thing, in the right way, every time.”

Through his lawyer, Seth DuCharme, McGonigal pleaded not guilty to the New York charges at a brief court appearance Monday, where he was released on bond. DuCharme, a former Justice Department official who recently served as acting U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, said outside the courthouse that he looks forward to reviewing the evidence, “but we have a lot of confidence in Mr. McGonigal.”

“As you all know, Charlie’s had a long distinguished career with the FBI. He served the United States for decades,” DuCharme said. “This is obviously a distressing day for Mr. McGonigal and his family.”

McGonigal is scheduled to appear via video link in federal court in D.C. on Wednesday. In that case, prosecutors alleged that from at least August 2017 — and continuing after his retirement from the FBI — McGonigal failed to disclose to the FBI his relationship with the former Albanian intelligence worker, described as “Person A” in charging papers. He also allegedly failed to disclose that he had an “ongoing relationship with the Prime Minister of Albania,” the indictment said. Since 2013, Edi Rama has served as the prime minister of that country.

In late 2017, authorities charge, McGonigal received sums of cash totaling $225,000 from Person A — the first time in a parked car outside a New York City restaurant, and the next two times at the person’s New Jersey home. According to the indictment, McGonigal “indicated to Person A that the money would be paid back.”

Months later, at McGonigal’s urging, the FBI opened an investigation into an American lobbyist for an Albanian political party that is a rival of Rama, an investigation that used Person A as a source of information, authorities said.

That was not the only instance in which the indictments suggest McGonigal used his job for the benefit of people with whom he had undisclosed financial or personal relationships.

On a 2017 trip to Austria, McGonigal and a Justice Department prosecutor interviewed an Albanian businessperson and politician who had previously told McGonigal that they wanted someone to investigate a death threat against them, according to the indictment in Washington. McGonigal had been introduced to that individual by Person A, the indictment charges.

The following year, McGonigal allegedly asked the FBI’s liaison to the United Nations to arrange a meeting with the then-U.S. ambassador, Nikki Haley, or another high ranking official, as well as a former Bosnian defense minister and founder of a Bosnian pharmaceutical company.

The indictment says McGonigal’s associates sought that meeting for political reasons that would have benefited Person A financially. At the time, the indictment charges, McGonigal suggested that the pharmaceutical company pay half a million dollars to a company registered to Person A, as a fee for arranging the meeting.

Current and former U.S. officials who know and have worked with McGonigal said they were shocked by the indictments. As a senior FBI counterintelligence official, McGonigal had access to an extraordinary amount of sensitive information, potentially including investigations of foreign spies or U.S. citizens suspected of working on behalf of foreign governments, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the work McGonigal did. One former official said McGonigal had worked with the CIA on counterintelligence matters.

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 17. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)
According to the New York indictment, a law firm retained McGonigal to work as a consultant and investigator on the effort to get Deripaska removed from the sanctions list. He was listed as a consultant and arranged for $25,000 monthly payments to be sent to an account controlled by another person, an interpreter for the U.S. government who was a former Russian diplomat. The interpreter, Sergey Shestakov, was also charged.

McGonigal’s FBI role gave him access to classified information, including a then-secret list of Russian prospects for sanctioning by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Justice Department said. That list included Deripaska before the sanctions were actually imposed.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that McGonigal and Shestakov “should have known better” given their experience in government service. Shestakov also pleaded not guilty.

U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves of D.C. called the alleged coverup of foreign contacts and financial relationships a “gateway to corruption,” and he credited the FBI with its handling of the “delicate and difficult” investigation of a former high-ranking official.

“McGonigal is alleged to have committed the very violations he swore to investigate while he purported to lead a workforce of FBI employees who spend their careers protecting secrets and holding foreign adversaries accountable,” said the FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, Donald Alway, who announced the charges along with Graves and the leaders of the D.C. FBI office and the Justice Department National Security Division. Asked about the case Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland declined to comment.

McGonigal faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the two D.C. counts of falsification of records and documents, and up to five years in prison for each of seven counts of concealing material facts or making false statements. The most serious charge in the New York indictment carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

McGonigal joined the FBI in 1996, working in New York, Washington, Baltimore and Cleveland. Along the way, he was involved in some of the most sensitive and high-profile intelligence cases in the U.S. government, including the conviction of former national security adviser Samuel Berger for knowingly removing classified documents from the National Archives. In 2010, McGonigal was tapped to lead the task force probing the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.

The charges against McGonigal alarmed his former colleagues in part because of his depth of knowledge of so many elements of U.S. espionage. McGonigal was an expert on Russian intelligence activities targeting the United States, as well as U.S. efforts to recruit Russian spies, said several former intelligence officials who worked with him and spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive matters.

His position at the New York field office would have given him direct access to past and current recruitment efforts, work that was coordinated with the CIA, these people said. McGonigal was well-known at the CIA among officers who dealt with Russia and counterintelligence matters, and he knew the details of some intelligence operations targeting Russia, former officials said.

McGonigal has not been charged with espionage, but the former officials who worked with him said his knowledge and experience would have put him at high risk of being recruited by a foreign government.

One former official noted that McGonigal was in charge of an investigation into why numerous individuals in China who were spying for the United States were arrested and taken out of commission. As part of that investigation, McGonigal would have known details about the covert systems that the CIA used to communicate with its agents, the former official said. Those systems are believed to have played a central role in exposing the agents to government authorities.

Deripaska has been a focus of FBI investigative work for many years. In 2021, agents searched two homes linked to him, one in D.C. and the other in New York. At the time, a spokeswoman for the aluminum tycoon said the properties were owned by his relatives.

The name of Deripaska, a politically connected billionaire, came up repeatedly in recent U.S. investigations involving Russia and the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. Deripaska did business for years with Paul Manafort, whose tenure as Trump’s campaign chairman became an intense focus of FBI investigations.

Manafort and Deripaska have both confirmed that they had a business relationship in which Manafort was paid as an investment consultant. In 2014, Deripaska accused Manafort in a Cayman Islands court of taking nearly $19 million intended for investments without accounting for how they were used."