Peter Lucas: 'McGonigal' slapped the USA, how Yuri Kim served Rama to hit Berisha

The American-Albanian journalist, Peter Lucas, has made an analysis of the 'McGonigal' scandal with details from the indictments of the case, where the name of Prime Minister Edi Rama is also mentioned.

Lucas writes in his analysis for the "Boston Herald" , that the arrest of the former official, in addition to shocking the FBI, has also revealed his close relationship with Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Lucas also talks about another meeting between McGonigal and 'Person A', identified as Agron Neza, from whom he received $80,000 in cash. Lucas points out that Rama's connection to McGonigal's lawsuit hurts the prime minister and becomes an obstacle for the US.

In the analysis, the journalist also refers to Ambassador Yuri Kim as he writes that "as a favor to Rama, he tried to remove Berish from the Assembly".  

Lucas also mentions the declaration of Berisha by the USA as 'non-grata', according to him, with unproven accusations of corruption.

Excerpts from the analysis:

McGonigal, unknown to the FBI, made several trips to Albania, where political corruption and drug money laundering are rampant, between 2017 and 2018 accompanied by “Person A” – the unidentified naturalized American citizen of Albania.

McGonigal secretly met with Prime Minister Rama on September 9, 2017. The meeting, to discuss oil contracts, was arranged by "Person B," according to the indictment.

Person B is a former senior Albanian government official and advisor to Rama. Both persons A and B had financial interests in the granting of licenses to drill the oil field. At that meeting, McGonigal handed Rama "paraphernalia" of the FBI, according to the indictment.

A month later, McGonigal pocketed $80,000 in cash given to him by Person A at a meeting in a parked car in New York City, according to the indictment.

Lidhja e Ramës me padinë e McGonigal është një goditje për liderin shqiptar dhe një pengesë për SHBA-në, e cila ka mbështetur hapur Ramën, një socialist, ndaj armikut të tij politik Sali Berisha, një ish-kryeministër dhe kreu i Partisë Demokratike të opozitës.

SHBA-të janë aq të thella në politikën shqiptare, saqë ambasadorja e SHBA-së Yuri Kim, si favor për Ramën, u përpoq të largonte Berishën nga deputeti i Kuvendit edhe pse Berisha ishte zgjedhur në rregull. Berisha do të kërkojë të rrëzojë Ramën në zgjedhjet e 2025.

Berisha, a cardiologist, led the movement to overthrow Albania's communist leadership in 1991 and later served as its prime minister. He is a staunch opponent of George Soros and his Open Society Foundation, which seeks to "reform" the Albanian criminal justice system as it does in the US. Berisha calls Soros "the architect of corruption".

Although Berisha had been out of office for eight years, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared Berisha persona non grata on unspecified and unproven corruption charges, which Berisha has denied.

Berisha called it a return, because Blinken is said to have close ties with Soros. Blinken's father Donald funded the Soros Open Society Archives at the Central European University in Budapest, which Soros founded. Soros is from Hungary.