A disgraced FBI agent’s reckless leaks about a Chinese company tied to Hunter Biden have just been exposed in a bombshell watchdog report.
According to National Review, a new report from the Justice Department’s inspector general reveals that Charles McGonigal, once a top FBI counterintelligence official in New York, spilled confidential details about an investigation into CEFC, a Chinese infrastructure giant linked to Hunter Biden and convicted executive Patrick Ho, to a businessman connected to the firm.
McGonigal, who oversaw the FBI’s probe into CEFC and Ho from October 2016 to September 2018, first leaked sensitive information in June 2017 during a Florida trip with a future Albanian business partner and a former FBI colleague.
That leak went straight to the businessman—identified as a former Albanian official and CEFC employee—who promptly informed Ho the very next day at a Washington, D.C., meeting. Talk about playing fast and loose with national security for a quick pat on the back.
By November 2017, McGonigal doubled down, leaking again during a phone call about a CEFC event in New York, ominously hinting, “we are ready.” That bravado, as he later admitted, wasn’t about sabotaging the case but sure smells like a reckless ego trip. Ho, blissfully unaware of the full trap awaiting, arrived in New York for that event and was promptly arrested on bribery charges related to CEFC contracts in Chad and Uganda. Days before, James Biden curiously tried to check for an active warrant on Ho through a retired Secret Service agent, though they wrongly concluded there wasn’t one.
Upon arrest, Ho turned to the Bidens for help, paying Hunter Biden a hefty $1 million retainer for legal assistance that ultimately went nowhere. Last year, Ho even threatened to sue Hunter for the money back, though the outcome remains murky.
Hunter and James Biden, while not implicated in the FBI’s CEFC investigation, had deep business ties with the company for about three years, including a $3 million wire transfer in early 2017 to Hunter’s partner, with a third going to Hunter himself. Those funds came after deals struck during Joe Biden’s vice presidency, raising eyebrows about the optics of such connections.
Then there’s Hudson West III, a 2017 joint venture with CEFC, where $5 million flowed in for U.S. energy deals, only to collapse amid Ho’s legal woes. A sliver of that money trickled into Joe Biden’s account through a web of transactions, though Hunter and James insist Joe had no role in their business affairs despite documented meetings with associates.
Back to McGonigal—his leaks didn’t result in obstruction of justice charges, though the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office considered them. Instead, he’s serving a 50-month sentence for money laundering tied to payments from a sanctioned Russian oligarch, plus a concurrent 28-month term for undisclosed dealings with an Albanian national.
During the inspector general’s probe, McGonigal initially minimized his ties to Ho and denied discussing CEFC, only to backtrack after damning text messages surfaced, admitting he tipped off about planned arrests. His excuse? Pure “bravado,” as if that justifies jeopardizing a federal investigation.
Let’s not ignore the broader picture—McGonigal’s actions reflect a troubling disregard for protocol, potentially compromising cases tied to international corruption. While he claims no harm was intended, the ripple effects of such leaks could have shielded bad actors from accountability.
Meanwhile, the Biden family’s entanglement with CEFC continues to fuel legitimate questions about influence peddling, even if no direct wrongdoing by Joe Biden has been proven in this saga. Hunter’s recent pardon for unrelated tax and gun crimes only adds to the public’s skepticism about elite privilege in Washington.
IRS whistleblowers, now senior advisors in the Trump administration’s Treasury Department after facing alleged IRS retribution, confirmed Ho’s $1 million payment to Hunter. Their courage in stepping forward contrasts sharply with the establishment’s apparent instinct to circle the wagons.
At the end of the day, this story isn’t just about one rogue agent or a shady business deal—it’s a stark reminder of why trust in our institutions hangs by a thread. McGonigal’s leaks, paired with the Bidens’ questionable foreign dealings, demand rigorous oversight, not progressive excuses or dismissive shrugs. Let’s hope accountability, not bravado, wins out in the end.
