If you haven’t heard the name “Charles McGonigal” before, that’s how it’s supposed to be. Top FBI officials in Counterintelligence aren’t supposed to make the news and become household names. But yesterday, McGonigal was indicted by grand juries in New York and Washington D.C. and arrested for secretly working for Russian oligarch and close Putin ally Oleg Deripaska, and for taking money from an Albanian intelligence agent. McGonigal is charged with violating economic sanctions, money laundering, and conspiracy.
Maddeningly, this news is too little and too late. And long overdue. Just imagine how different the US would be now if Clinton had won in 2016. International standing. Guns. Abortion. Climate. Immigration. All of the debacles the GQP has spread and lovingly tended. SMH. 😡
And now we find out that after he "retired" from the FBI, he went to work for the firm that helped Jared Kushner ditch his 666 Fifth Ave. property to the Qataris in a 99-year lease with over a billion dollars paid UP FRONT. I have said from the get-go that DoJ needs to start hammering Kushner a LOT harder.
Manafort's decade as a Putin tool in Ukraine for a decade prior to running the Orange Jesus campaign is too often overlooked, as is his massive debt to Deripaska who seems to have acted as his "handler" while he was theoretically employed by the Putin backed criminal regime in Ukraine.
Hmmmm Giuliani announce a "big surprise" just before the 2016 election and then coincidently there was the "Big October surprise" of Hunter's lap top just before the 2020 election. I wonder what "big surprise" we are getting in 2024? I'm hoping the scum doesn't get that far but I'm losing faith. And where is the punishment to Barr for blowing off the Mueller report? No Russian ties my ass
Unless I'm missing something here, with the arrest and indictments of McGonnigal, other than the obvious embarrassment of having been used as a mouthpiece for disinformation, there should be no breach of journalistic ethics for NYT to reveal whether this man was one of their sources in 2016. In fact, it should be their ethical obligation, not requiring the legal coercion of a subpoena. NYT can at least partially redeem itself by coming clean and making public its role in this bombshell of a story.
And for those re-stoking the bonfires to burn Comey, if anything, I think this new evidence tends to show that he - like the Times - were played by forces beyond their control. Maybe they should both be ashamed for being tools, but it seems unlikely they were anything but hapless players trying to do their jobs.
Jay - I really appreciated your 'delving into ' this extremely troubling & complex issue. I feel a bit more sympathy for Comey now; but I felt truly sorry to see how much it upset Frank Figluizzi (sp ?) when he was a guest 'commentator' on MSNBC yesterday - he'd both known & worked with McGonigal for many years, & was visibly stunned to discover that he was lining his own pockets while helping the very same Russians he was supposed to be investigating ! One other point that came up yesterday was this : the real possibility that McGonigal was (potentially) already beholden to the Russians before he got the task of investigating them ... "Food for Thought" ....
Rachel Maddow featured this story last night. Hillary Clinton knew Trump was a puppet of Putin, and so was Manafort and, we now learn, high-level FBI agent McGonigal. I shake my head at what could have been...
Yeah, I mean, as long as we're speculating, well, we may as well prepare for the worst case scenario as these many years have pretty much blown the roof off of propriety, decency and integrity; the mistake we have apparently been making on repeat is assuming that our leadership is honorable and sincerely patriotic, when it seems a large swathe of those in positions of power may be willfully corrupt or susceptible bat a minimum.
There is so much collusion with Russia by the GOP and Trump it's hilarious that Trump actually sued Clinton for "weaving a false narrative" about it. So glad that he and his attorneys were ordered to pay nearly $1 million for his "completely frivolous" lawsuit against Clinton.
I'm thinking the NYT needs to retract that article pending further review. mea culpa the s@#$ out of that story until the truth is learned. But that story can no longer stand when the source(s) are now in question, regardless of if that source is this FBI agent. He could have poisoned the well
I find the “defense” offered by Comey that he HAD to tell Congress he was reopening the email case against Hilary Clinton to be disingenuous. A case of the tail wagging the dog. Comey had no control over NY and apparently the FBI. And then there’s the fact that he himself appointed McGonigal. Whose idea was that and how many other FBI agents are loyal only to Russia and the Republicans? As per Comey’s statement— his wife and daughters were right to not talk to him after his statement regarding Clinton. Comey tried to get sympathy about that and it fell flat to my ears. Poor Mr. Comey, he had “no choice”.
Maddeningly, this news is too little and too late. And long overdue. Just imagine how different the US would be now if Clinton had won in 2016. International standing. Guns. Abortion. Climate. Immigration. All of the debacles the GQP has spread and lovingly tended. SMH. 😡
And now we find out that after he "retired" from the FBI, he went to work for the firm that helped Jared Kushner ditch his 666 Fifth Ave. property to the Qataris in a 99-year lease with over a billion dollars paid UP FRONT. I have said from the get-go that DoJ needs to start hammering Kushner a LOT harder.
Manafort's decade as a Putin tool in Ukraine for a decade prior to running the Orange Jesus campaign is too often overlooked, as is his massive debt to Deripaska who seems to have acted as his "handler" while he was theoretically employed by the Putin backed criminal regime in Ukraine.
Hmmmm Giuliani announce a "big surprise" just before the 2016 election and then coincidently there was the "Big October surprise" of Hunter's lap top just before the 2020 election. I wonder what "big surprise" we are getting in 2024? I'm hoping the scum doesn't get that far but I'm losing faith. And where is the punishment to Barr for blowing off the Mueller report? No Russian ties my ass
Unless I'm missing something here, with the arrest and indictments of McGonnigal, other than the obvious embarrassment of having been used as a mouthpiece for disinformation, there should be no breach of journalistic ethics for NYT to reveal whether this man was one of their sources in 2016. In fact, it should be their ethical obligation, not requiring the legal coercion of a subpoena. NYT can at least partially redeem itself by coming clean and making public its role in this bombshell of a story.
And for those re-stoking the bonfires to burn Comey, if anything, I think this new evidence tends to show that he - like the Times - were played by forces beyond their control. Maybe they should both be ashamed for being tools, but it seems unlikely they were anything but hapless players trying to do their jobs.
Jay - I really appreciated your 'delving into ' this extremely troubling & complex issue. I feel a bit more sympathy for Comey now; but I felt truly sorry to see how much it upset Frank Figluizzi (sp ?) when he was a guest 'commentator' on MSNBC yesterday - he'd both known & worked with McGonigal for many years, & was visibly stunned to discover that he was lining his own pockets while helping the very same Russians he was supposed to be investigating ! One other point that came up yesterday was this : the real possibility that McGonigal was (potentially) already beholden to the Russians before he got the task of investigating them ... "Food for Thought" ....
Rachel Maddow featured this story last night. Hillary Clinton knew Trump was a puppet of Putin, and so was Manafort and, we now learn, high-level FBI agent McGonigal. I shake my head at what could have been...
Yeah, I mean, as long as we're speculating, well, we may as well prepare for the worst case scenario as these many years have pretty much blown the roof off of propriety, decency and integrity; the mistake we have apparently been making on repeat is assuming that our leadership is honorable and sincerely patriotic, when it seems a large swathe of those in positions of power may be willfully corrupt or susceptible bat a minimum.
Hilary should demand an immediate redo of the 2016 election! 😉
A brilliant piece of analysis.
The stench runs deep.
The FBI is corrupt.
The Supreme Court is corrupt.
The Republican party is corrupt.
The main stream media is corrupt.
Who do we get the truth from?
Comey again! If there ever was any doubt that he handed the election to DJT on a silver platter, this further evidence should dispel that doubt.
There is so much collusion with Russia by the GOP and Trump it's hilarious that Trump actually sued Clinton for "weaving a false narrative" about it. So glad that he and his attorneys were ordered to pay nearly $1 million for his "completely frivolous" lawsuit against Clinton.
I'm thinking the NYT needs to retract that article pending further review. mea culpa the s@#$ out of that story until the truth is learned. But that story can no longer stand when the source(s) are now in question, regardless of if that source is this FBI agent. He could have poisoned the well
I find the “defense” offered by Comey that he HAD to tell Congress he was reopening the email case against Hilary Clinton to be disingenuous. A case of the tail wagging the dog. Comey had no control over NY and apparently the FBI. And then there’s the fact that he himself appointed McGonigal. Whose idea was that and how many other FBI agents are loyal only to Russia and the Republicans? As per Comey’s statement— his wife and daughters were right to not talk to him after his statement regarding Clinton. Comey tried to get sympathy about that and it fell flat to my ears. Poor Mr. Comey, he had “no choice”.