Trump Pardon Buries FBI's Secret Work for Putin's Oligarchs [View all]

Source: Byline Times Jackie Singh 11 February 2026

In 15 January 2026, President Donald Trump pardoned a former FBI counterintelligence agent who had refused to testify about his work for Oleg Deripaska and Dmitry Rybolovlev – two Russian oligarchs with direct ties to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. The pardon came six months after the daughter of the former agent’s co-defendant, Julio Herrera Velutini, donated $3.5 million to Trump-aligned super PACs. The decision permanently sealed the record of services US intelligence officials secretly provided for sanctioned Russian networks.

Former FBI agent Mark T. Rossini’s business partner – Charles McGonigal, the agency’s former counterintelligence chief in New York – is currently serving more than six years in federal prison for taking Deripaska’s money.
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By pardoning Rossini alongside Herrera and Vázquez, Trump sent a clear signal. Foreign actors and domestic propagandists can now tell a sanitised story in which the President saved an FBI whistleblower from persecution for supporting a pro-Trump governor.

This version of history conveniently erases Rossini’s 2009 felony conviction for illegal database access and his subsequent years of service to sanctioned Russian interests; his partnership with a disgraced counterintelligence chief and his strategic use of the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying about his work for Putin’s inner circle. Most importantly, it ensures that the classified records detailing what these American officials actually did for Russian networks will remain under lock and key.

Read more: https://bylinetimes.com/2026/02/11/trump-pardon-buries-fbis-secret-work-for-putins-oligarchs/