A new watchdog report has revealed that a disgraced former FBI official leaked confidential details about an investigation into a Chinese company tied to Hunter Biden, raising fresh questions about political influence, corruption, and the integrity of federal investigations.
Charles McGonigal, the former special agent in charge of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division in New York, allegedly informed associates of Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC about the bureau’s probe into the company. According to the Justice Department’s inspector general, McGonigal shared sensitive details of the investigation with an individual connected to CEFC, who then passed the information to senior executives, including Patrick Ho, a CEFC executive later convicted on bribery charges.
CEFC and the Hunter Biden Connection
From October 2016 to September 2018, McGonigal oversaw the FBI’s investigation into CEFC and Ho, who also had business ties to President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Prosecutors later proved that Ho was involved in a scheme to bribe officials in Chad and Uganda in exchange for lucrative contracts for the company.
Hunter Biden’s dealings with CEFC have long attracted scrutiny from lawmakers and investigators. He reportedly worked on consulting deals with the company around the same time the FBI was pursuing its case against Ho. While Hunter Biden was not charged in relation to CEFC’s bribery scheme, his financial ties to the company have continued to fuel political controversy.
Alleged FBI Leak
The inspector general report says a person listed in McGonigal’s Washington, D.C., indictment told the FBI in 2021 and 2022 that McGonigal had repeatedly tipped off CEFC before Ho’s arrest. The unnamed source said the former FBI agent shared confidential details “on multiple occasions,” which were then relayed directly to Ho and CEFC’s chairman in China.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan considered charging McGonigal with obstruction of justice over the leak but ultimately declined.
McGonigal’s Criminal Cases
McGonigal’s fall from one of the FBI’s top counterintelligence posts has been swift and steep. He was separately indicted in New York for conspiring with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who was under U.S. sanctions, and charged with money laundering in connection with those dealings. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 months in prison.
In Washington, McGonigal faced additional charges for secretly accepting money from an Albanian businessman and failing to disclose foreign contacts. He was sentenced to 28 months, which runs concurrently with his New York prison term.
Who Was “Person B”?
The watchdog report identifies the intermediary, referred to only as “Person B,” as a former Albanian government official who also worked for CEFC. Records show that McGonigal sought an introduction to this person as early as April 2017, raising concerns about how long the disgraced agent may have been leveraging his FBI position for personal or financial gain.
A Pattern of Compromise
The inspector general’s findings underscore a troubling pattern: one of the FBI’s highest-ranking counterintelligence officers, tasked with protecting national security, instead shared information with foreign-linked operatives while pursuing questionable financial dealings abroad.
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