Prosecutors reveal classified evidence will be included in case against Charles McGonigal

This week prosecutors in the case against former FBI official Charles McGonigal revealed classified evidence will be used in trial.

Federal prosecutors listed the various types of evidence they plan to introduce over the course of the trial, including classified documents, surveillance photos and more, to prove that McGonigal violated US sanctions on by working with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska after his time as a counterintelligence officer in the New York FBI Field Office. The judge has given the prosecution and the defense 90 days to comb through the evidence to ensure no classified information is revealed over the course of the trial.

McGonigal has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and denies having worked with Deripaska and other also-sanctioned Russian oligarchs, as well as charges of accepting money from a European intelligence official. He is also charged with trying to use his position at the FBI to lift sanctions on Deripaska.  According to the Department of Justice, if he is convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. 

This week, the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee asked the FBI to provide any and all documentation it had related to Charles McGonigal so it could review the charges and his actions during his employment at the Bureau. The committee plans to assess whether there was or is political bias at the FBI.