Inside an FBI spy hunter’s double life

Many of the tech startups and big firms that digitize buying and selling homes are struggling. In the frothy days of 2021, investors pumped $32 billion into proptech. But the harsh reality set in: The same pandemic that had brought opportunity triggered supply shortages and inflation, and interest rates soared.

What this means: Opendoor has cut jobs. Its CEO said the company’s algorithm couldn’t predict the market shifting so quickly. Compass is reeling from a horrible year, from financial losses to tech troubles to mass layoffs. At least 58 companies in proptech and other real-estate sectors have shed jobs — see our rolling list.

I’ll be sharing your real-estate notes tomorrow. But let’s get to today’s stories.

— Nicholas Carlson

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Charles F. McGonigal was no ordinary FBI agent. He led the WikiLeaks investigation into Chelsea Manning. He even played a role in opening the probe into the Trump campaign’s Russia contacts.

And in his final job at the FBI, it was his responsibility to find enemy spies and recruit his own. But Insider’s Mattathias Schwartz has breathtaking exclusive reporting on the dangerous double life McGonigal is accused of leading during this role — both professionally and through an extramarital affair — right under the noses of some of the sharpest cops in America.

McGonigal now faces criminal charges: money laundering, making false statements in mandatory disclosures to the FBI, and taking money from someone representing a Russian oligarch who he had once himself investigated.

“Charlie McGonigal knew everybody in the national security and law-enforcement world,” his ex-lover told Insider. “He fooled them all.”

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This edition was curated by Nicholas Carlson and edited by Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan, Dave Smith, Nathan Rennolds, and Kevin Kaplan. Get in touch: insidertoday@insider.com.