In light of former NY FBI Chief Charles McGonigal’s arrest this week, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election “loss” just became more suspicious. Per the Washington Post, ‘[t]he FBI’s former top spy hunter in New York was charged Monday with taking secret cash payments of more than $225,000 while overseeing highly sensitive cases, and breaking the law by trying to get Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska removed from a U.S. sanctions list.” Note that it was then-FBI Director James Comey who appointed McGonigal Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office in October 2016–when trump was under investigation for ties to Russia. McGonigal’s arrest, when viewed in conjunction with then FBI-Director Comey’s actions at the time, only adds fuel to what many suspected was taking place, namely obfuscating the truth about the FBI’s investigation into Donald Trump.
I have long called out James Comey for his role in ensuring Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the 2016 Presidential election. For those who don’t remember, here are excerpts of my piece on Comey from 6 years ago:
[Eleven days before the election, Comey] falsely implied Hillary was under FBI investigation, thereby tanking her poll numbers. It is widely acknowledged that after her performance in their three debate match ups, she was cruising to victory against Donald Trump. Then Comey pulled his stunt. His retraction, via an “oops, nothing to see here, folks” letter 9 days later, came too late for her numbers to bounce back. […]
Contemplate the deliberate actions of one of the nation’s highest law enforcement officials. Comey acted in direct contravention of FBI’s policy of not interfering with an election for the 60-day period preceding it in order to “revive” a non-investigation into Hillary Clinton while remaining silent about Trump and his operatives’ possible collusion with Russia — a scandal that could have dire consequences to our safety as a nation. What kind of a man, a sworn “patriot,” would behave in such a manner — especially after Hillary Clinton had repeatedly been cleared of wrongdoing.
Per Michael Beschloss, “… to make matters worse, on October 31, 2016, @nytimes reported this: “Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia.” This was 8 days before the Trump-Clinton election. It was 27 days after Comey named McGonigal to head Counterintelligence for FBI’s New York Field Office.”
According to McGonigal’s indictment, It looks like the man Comey charged with investigating Trump’s ties to Russia in the run-up to the election was himself working on behalf of Russian interests. Was McGonigal saying trump had no ties to Russia, all while taking money from those beholden to Russia? Will a scandal of this magnitude rate even 1% of the coverage of Hillary’s emails?
At the time, Director Comey’s pile-on, stating the FBI was “re-opening” their investigation into Hillary Clinton’s banal emails, was the coup de grace. His announcement was apparently precipitated by a leak from the FBI’s NY office (headed by McGonigal). With McGonigal’s arrest, there is no apology strong enough for the disgraceful way Secretary Clinton was treated by all major news media for her nothing-burger emails. Their coverage amounted to a ceaseless effort to erode her poll numbers owing either to sexism, jealousy and/or personal disdain.
I have watched with disgust as many have tried to make excuses for former FBI Director Comey, saying that he was in an untenable position. But the fact is he kept silent about this untoward behavior to protect the name of the FBI, happily throwing Secretary Clinton to the wolves. I say ‘happily’ remembering that in the 90s, Comey was a Whitewater prosecutor. Had he been trying to get Hillary’s head on a pike for 30 years? Again where is the media’s outrage?
More revolting is Comey’s continued false piety. What consequences has he faced for burdening this country with trump, for negatively influencing a national election? Comey got a multi-million dollar book deal and a movie made about him, “The Comey Rule.”
Think how much better we would all be off if we’d had Secretary Clinton’s leadership, instead of trump’s divisiveness. Moreover, does anyone think Hillary Clinton would have been so callous and irresponsible at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic? How many lives might have been saved with a more pro-active, science-based and caring response.
Secretary Clinton was right to warn the American people throughout her campaign and especially at the Presidential debates. How many turned away, preferring their blind biases to even investigating what was right in front of them.
Below are some reactions to McGonigal’s arrest and its ramifications, as well as then-DEM Leader Harry Reid’s letter to James Comey calling out his clear double standard in the run up to the 2016 election.
What’s past is ALWAYS prologue. How will we ever prevent such disgraceful behavior from happening again if we keep sweeping it under the rug?
