Free Republic

Former high-ranking FBI official Charles McGonigal started tearing up Thursday as he was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison for colluding with a Russian oligarch to evade US sanctions. McGonigal, 55, was ordered to surrender by Feb. 26, 2024, made to serve three years of supervised release following his time behind bars, and was fined $40,000. After he exited the courthouse, McGonigal told onlookers, “Happy holidays.” McGonigal, who helmed the FBI’s counterintelligence division in New York from 2016 to 2018, pleaded guilty to the charge back in August. “[McGonigal] well knew his actions violated those sanctions,” Manhattan federal judge...

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is under fire for recommending one of the top donors to her campaign, Jennifer Rearden, for a lifetime post as a Manhattan federal judge. Gillibrand (D-NY) took in more than $30,000 in contributions from Rearden, and fellow Democrats are also fuming about the judicial candidate’s membership in an “elite” Connecticut country club that has been accused of maintaining a mostly white membership. President Biden accepted Gillibrand’s recommendation and nominated Rearden in January. Rearden gave Gillibrand and her political action committee $11,900 after telling the senator she wanted the job, Federal Election Commission filings show — and even...

A Darien woman has been named by President Donald Trump to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Jennifer H. Rearden, a partner in the litigation and crisis management practice groups at New York City-based firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, lives in Darien according to her Facebook page.... In 2008, she donated $2,000 to Barack Obama’s campaign, and Rearden has contributed repeatedly to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as Gillibrand’s Off the Sidelines PAC which works to get more women elected to office. Rearden has donated to several Democratic campaigns, according to Federal Elections Commission...