NEW YORK — The alleged criminal behavior of former FBI agent Charles McGonigal does not represent the actions of the rest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Director Christopher Wray told employees in an internal message summarized to ABC News.
McGonigal, who was the special agent in charge of counterintelligence in the FBI's New York field office until 2018, was arrested Saturday over his ties to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire who has been sanctioned by the United States and was criminally charged last year with violating those sanctions.
While the FBI did not provide or comment on the internal message, the agency provided a statement from Wray on the charges. "The FBI will go to great lengths to investigate and hold accountable anyone who violates the law, including when the individual is an FBI employee. We hold ourselves to the highest standard, and our focus will remain on our mission and on doing the right thing, in the right way, every time," Wray said.
McGonigal pleaded not guilty in the New York case and is expected to do the same when he appears before a federal magistrate in Washington on Wednesday.
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