Former FBI official who played key role in Trump-Russia probe is expected to plead guilty to Russian collusion

A former high-ranking FBI official who investigated former President Donald Trump for now-debunked ties to Moscow in 2016 is expected to plead guilty for some Russian collusion of his own.

Disgraced FBI agent Charles McGonigal, who ran counterintelligence for the bureau's New York field office, played a central role in triggering special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into fraudulent claims that Trump's campaign team colluded with Russia in order to win the 2016 election, reported Newsweek.

McGonigal had been serving as chief of the cybercrimes section of the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., when first made aware of allegations that a Trump adviser was boasting about possible Russian dirt on failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

This information reportedly led to the FBI's launch of "Crossfire Hurricane."

While the FBI was looking into the Trump campaign for questionable Slavic connections, one of its own was allegedly working for Oleg Deripaska — a Russian oligarch and aluminum magnate who reportedly has links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was ultimately sanctioned in 2018 by the U.S. Treasury Department for allegedly interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

McGonigal, arrested in January but subsequently freed on a $500,000 bond, has been accused of doing Deripaska's bidding on multiple occasions and trying to get him taken off the U.S. sanctions list.

According to his indictment, McGonigal agreed to help the daughter of Deripaska's Russian agent get an internship with the New York Police Department "in the fields of counterterrorism, intelligence gathering and 'international liasoning.'"

McGonigal is also accused of probing one of Deripaska's oligarchic rivals in exchange for concealed payments.

The disgraced FBI agent faces four counts: conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; conspiracy to commit money laundering; and money laundering.

The former FBI agent has also been charged in a separate case for allegedly concealing $225,000 received from a former Albanian intelligence employee while still working for the bureau.

While legally required to report his engagements with foreign officials, McGonigal allegedly hid the ties.

The New York Times reported that the revelations about McGonigal's alleged conduct raised concerns about what agency secrets he might have divulged to foreign actors, although the FBI contends there is presently no evidence to suggest he did.

Manhattan federal Judge Jennifer Rearden indicated in a brief order filed Monday, "The court has been informed that defendant Charles McGonigal may wish to enter a change of plea."

The district judge set McGonigal's plea hearing for Aug. 15, where McGonigal may cop to money laundering and evading U.S. sanctions.

Neither the defendant's lawyers nor a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan responded to Reuters' requests for comment.

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