"He was accused of receiving about 225 thousand dollars from an Albanian official"/ VOA: Republican lawmakers in the US accuse the Department of Justice of being soft on the "McGonigal" cases

The House Judiciary Committee in the United States Congress is expressing concern about the possibility of plea deals against former FBI official Charles McGonigal in two cases against him as an attempt to hide the extent of the violations. him, to protect the FBI's reputation.

The committee's chairman, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday that the committee is investigating allegations "of politicization and bias within the FBI regarding the criminal case against former agent special Charles McGonigal".

This Commission initially requested documents and information on this matter from the FBI on February 2, 2023, but the letter states that to date, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has not complied with this non-binding request.

Former top FBI counterintelligence official Charles McGonigal pleaded guilty in August in a New York court to charges of violating US sanctions on Russia by working after retirement for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, whom he first he had investigated.

McGonigal admitted to receiving over $17,000 from the Russian oligarch to provide negative information about another rival Russian oligarch. The United States has imposed sanctions on oligarch Deripaska since 2018 for reasons related to Russia's occupation of Crimea.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped other charges related to Mr. McGonigal's collusion with Deripaska.

In another trial in a federal court in Washington, McGonigal is accused of taking about $225,000 from a former employee of Albania's intelligence services.

"Despite a much larger payment from the former Albanian official, according to reports, McGonigal is negotiating with federal prosecutors in Washington a similar plea agreement," said the letter from the lawmaker Jordan to the director of the FBI.

The letter from the House Judiciary Committee reiterates the request for documents and information on the matter and calls for the FBI to comply with the request by October 3, 2023.

"The Commission has oversight authority over the Department of Justice and the FBI and may consider enforcement action if the FBI does not voluntarily cooperate," the letter states.

In February of this year, American lawmakers asked the FBI director for clarifications regarding the former senior FBI official, Charles McGonigal.

Republican lawmakers say the Justice Department and FBI have been used as political tools by Democrats against Republicans.

Even the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin, asked at that time by means of a letter to the Attorney General, Merrick Garland, and the director of the FBI, Mr. Wray, for further information about the activities of Mr. McGonigal, starting from two indictments, that of New York and that of Washington./ VOA