New York Post: McGonigal's orders for Rama, at Ducka's request

2023-09-25 17:17:00, Aktualitet CNA

The great American newspaper New York Post has dedicated an article to McGonigal where he also talked about his connections with Albania.

The New York Post writes that Gal Luft, the "missing witness" of the Biden corruption investigation, has provided new evidence to the FBI spy investigation.

The article says McGonigal met Dorian Duck, a CEFC employee and associate of Hunter Biden, in Albania, according to his indictment. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was also at the meeting. At Ducka's request, McGonigal asked Rama to be careful about granting licenses for oil field drilling in Albania to Russian companies.

Full New York Post article:

The missing witness to Biden's corruption

Gal Luft, the "missing witness" of the Biden corruption probe, has provided new evidence to the House impeachment inquiry into an FBI spy who tipped off Hunter Biden that his Chinese partners were named in four indictments unsealed in 2017 by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, Southern District of New York.

The Israeli professor and former Israel Defense Forces officer has been on the run for six months after reneging on bail in Cyprus, where he was awaiting extradition to the United States on charges of weapons possession and foreign lobbying. , also raised by the SDNY.

In an open letter to Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the three chairmen of the House committees leading the impeachment inquiry, Luft claims that the tip-off to CEFC's Chinese executives came on the same day the first son wrote a WhatsApp message blackmailing another CEFC employee for millions of dollars over a "highly confidential and time-sensitive" matter, while claiming his father was in the room with him.

"I'm sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled," Hunter wrote to CEFC employee Raymond Zhao on July 30, 2017, in a WhatsApp message that was presented to Congress in June during testimony by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley.

"I'll make sure that between the man sitting next to me and anyone he knows and my ability to hold a grudge, you'll regret not following my lead. I'm sitting here waiting to call my father."

Later that night, CEFC executive Patrick Ho, who was staying at a Manhattan hotel, received an urgent call from CEFC president Chan Chauto in Shanghai, who told him to leave the U.S. immediately, according to Luft, who talks to Ho regularly.

The next day, Ho flew to Hong Kong, where he stayed for four months.

"problem"

Zhao told Hunter in a follow-up WhatsApp on July 31, 2017, that “CEFC is willing to cooperate with the family. He thinks that now the priority is to solve the problem mentioned last night."

Luft believes the "problematic" and "highly confidential and time-sensitive" issue Zhao and Hunter discussed were the secret SDNY indictments.

Within nine days of ¬WhatsApp's shutdown, CEFC would send $5.1 million to US entities to transfer to Hunter.

Luft, who had also made money through a partnership with CEFC, flew to Hong Kong to see Ho on August 14, 2017, two weeks after his sudden departure. Ho told him about the SDNY lawsuits and that Hunter had a mole inside the FBI who had tipped him off. The Chinese nickname for the Spy was "One Eye".

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“Existence of a possible spy within the FBI and/or Justice Department who passed on to Chinese individuals information about the sealed indictments has apparently never been resolved to date," Luft wrote in his letter to Comer. "Perhaps Congress should investigate this matter as part of its impeachment inquiry."

The information for CEFC executives came at a crucial stage in their negotiations to buy into Russian-owned energy company Rosneft and came just 10 days before a curious meeting between a CEFC employee in Albania and 'G-man' Charles McGonigal, then chief of counterintelligence at the FBI's New York office, which had been surveilling Ho and his associates. McGonigal pleaded guilty Friday to concealing at least $225,000 in cash from a former Albanian intelligence official.

On September 8, 2017, CEFC announced its plans to buy a $9.1 billion stake in Rosneft.

On September 9, 2017, McGonigal met Dorian Duck, a CEFC employee and associate of Hunter Biden, in Albania, according to his indictment. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was also at the meeting. At Ducka's request, McGonigal asked Rama to be careful about granting licenses for oil field drilling in Albania to Russian companies.

On September 10, 2017, Hunter signed an attorney engagement letter to represent CEFC's Ho for a $1 million retainer.

According to Luft, sometime in September 2017, Hunter and his uncle Jim Biden flew to Hong Kong to meet Ho and asked him to buy them two "burn-in" iPhones before telling him the coast was clear to 'returned to New York. But when Ho returned to the US on November 17, 2017, he was arrested at JFK Airport on charges of bribery and money laundering.

Ho's first call was to Jim Biden, looking for Hunter. Hunter then asked another attorney, Edward Kim, to do the legal work. Kim asked Hunter in an email the afternoon of Ho's arrest to "get the names of the FBI agents you spoke with, that would be helpful." Hunter replied, "Working on it."

On November 19, 2017, McGonigal had another meeting in Albania with Ducka, according to his indictment.

How McGonigal fits into the Biden-CEFC picture remains to be determined, but he was in charge of FBI counterintelligence in New York at the time the SDNY was surveilling Ho and his associates, so he should have aware of Hunter's connection.

Comer described the information contained in Luft's letter Sunday as "helpful" and said he looked forward to investigating his claims about an FBI mole. His committee is still interested in interviewing Luft.

"We get a lot of tips and the next step is to verify the accuracy of the claims," ??he said.

Shadow characters

Luft's timing is fortuitous because the impeachment inquiry into Biden's corruption that begins Thursday will refocus attention on China. Comer will reveal two new pieces of evidence this week, including a new Chinese wire on members of the Biden family and new documents provided by IRS whistleblowers.

Comer also responded to Democratic criticism of his investigation for trying to interview questionable characters, saying, "This is a reflection on Biden, not our investigation."

When Democrats first blasted him in June for wanting to interview Luft, who they called a "Chinese spy" because of his ties to CEFC, Comer had a devastating comeback: "All I know is that Luft was taking money from the same company. The Bidens were getting money from ... Is the president's son a Chinese spy? They got money from the same company."

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) chimed in: "Who cares if they had money from the same company?"

And that's perhaps the most perfect summary of the Democrats' vulnerable position to protect the vulnerable as the impeachment inquiry begins this week./ CNA