Watchdog Findings
The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report alleging that Charles McGonigal, who once led the FBI’s New York counterintelligence division, leaked details of a federal probe to an Albanian intermediary working with China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC), a firm with longstanding ties to the Biden family business dealings.
According to the report, McGonigal met with the intermediary, identified only as Person B, in June 2017. During their discussion, McGonigal reportedly told him “we are looking into them” or “we are going after them.” The intermediary understood “them” to mean CEFC and its affiliates, according to testimony he later gave investigators.
A Chain of Warnings
The very next day, Person B allegedly traveled to Washington, D.C., where he relayed the FBI insider information to CEFC executive Patrick Ho. Ho, who was already under federal scrutiny, then passed the warning to CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming. From there, the tip reportedly reached another target of the federal investigation, referred to in the inspector general’s report as Target 3.
This sequence of leaks potentially undermined ongoing law enforcement operations at a time when only a small circle of government officials even knew of the CEFC probe.
More Contacts
The OIG report also documented later communications between McGonigal and Person B. In November 2017, after being invited by Ho to a CEFC-sponsored event in New York, Person B expressed doubts about attending, citing worries about the FBI’s investigation. McGonigal, who was overseas at the time, allegedly advised him to “stay in Albania” and also remarked, “we are ready for them” or “ready for action.”
Investigators say Person B has claimed he did not pass along McGonigal’s later comments.
Broader Context
McGonigal was already a controversial figure. In 2023, he was sentenced to 50 months in prison for conspiring with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska to evade U.S. sanctions. The new allegations add to concerns that while still at the bureau, McGonigal compromised sensitive investigations by colluding with foreign-linked actors.
CEFC, a sprawling energy conglomerate, has long been scrutinized for its connections to both Chinese Communist Party influence operations and business relationships with members of the Biden family. Its executives have faced corruption charges in the United States and abroad.
Political Fallout
The revelations are fueling criticism from congressional Republicans, who have long argued that the Biden family’s foreign business ties raise serious national security concerns. They contend that the McGonigal leak shows how deeply compromised U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies became during the Trump and Biden years.
Democrats, meanwhile, have largely downplayed the CEFC-Biden connection, framing the watchdog report as more evidence of one rogue FBI official’s misconduct rather than proof of systemic corruption.
What Comes Next
The OIG report is likely to intensify calls for new congressional hearings into CEFC’s dealings and the Biden family’s role in them. Lawmakers are also expected to question how a senior FBI official with access to top-secret intelligence could repeatedly collude with foreign actors without detection until years later.
While McGonigal is already serving prison time for separate charges, the watchdog’s findings may open the door to further inquiries, and potentially even new charges, if investigators determine that his actions obstructed justice or compromised national security.
