By Julie Kelly
As the first shoe related to the FBI’s involvement in the breach of the U.S. Capitol dropped—the New York Times last week reported at least two informants tied to the Proud Boys were working with the FBI before, during, and after January 6—another high-profile case continues to expose the bureau’s corrupt role in what the government also considers an act of domestic terrorism: a concocted plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer from her vacation cottage in October 2020.
In fact, Joe Biden’s Justice Department has tied the two events together in an attempt to convince the public that right-wing militiamen, ostensibly loyal to Donald Trump, pose a looming threat to the country. In a recent sentencing memorandum for one man who pleaded guilty in the Whitmer case, government prosecutors wrote, “as the Capitol riots demonstrated, an inchoate conspiracy can turn into a grave substantive offense on short notice.”
Especially when at least a dozen FBI agents and informants take charge.
The Whitmer caper came to light when six men were arrested on federal charges of “conspiracy to commit kidnapping,” a felony punishable by life in prison. (A superseding indictment filed in April added a charge of domestic terrorism to the five remaining defendants. Several others face state charges.)
Headlines blared the shocking news just as early voting was underway in the crucial swing state. Team Biden and the Democrats made the most of this timely political gift: “There is a through line from President Trump’s dog whistles and tolerance of hate, vengeance, and lawlessness to plots such as this one. He is giving oxygen to the bigotry and hate we see on the march in our country,” Biden said in a statement on October 9.
During a press conference the same day, Whitmer suggested Trump was responsible. “When our leaders meet with, encourage, and or fraternize with domestic terrorists, they legitimize their actions. They are complicit.”
It’s unclear whether the drama affected any votes. What we do know, however, is the integrity of the kidnapping plot quickly is eroding, just like the narrative about January 6.
A federal judge in Michigan last week delayed the Whitmer trial, originally scheduled to begin next month, until March 2022 after defense attorneys requested a 90-day continuance to investigate the behavior of several FBI informants and agents cited in the case, among other concerns. (BuzzFeed News has an excellent explainer here.)
An FBI-Funded Caper
Defense attorneys are accusing the FBI of entrapping their clients and demanding, over the objections of the Justice Department, access to all material that would reveal the extent of the FBI’s seven-month involvement.
“The government’s agents actively planned and coordinated its efforts to induce the defendants to engage in incriminating behavior and statements, even going so far as designing the objective and structural components of the conspiracy alleged in the indictment,” Scott Graham, the lawyer representing Kaleb Franks, wrote in an August motion.
Defense filings detail extensive communications between informants and their FBI handlers that show how they instigated the co-conspirators’ criminal behavior including purchasing weapons, making explosive devices, and organizing “surveillance” trips near Whitmer’s property. Informants personally profited from their work. One informant was given at least $24,000 in cash and a new car for his services. Agents were seen handing “envelopes full of cash . . . to CHSs” on several occasions, according to defense counsel. (CHS is short for “confidential human source,” the official term for informant.)
The FBI organized and funded all the trips aimed at preparing for the alleged “kidnapping” incident. Agents picked up the tab for transportation, lodging, food, and other expenses, including a “recon” trip in September. Without the government subsidizing the excursions—the same trips now used as evidence against them—most, if not all, of the defendants would not have had sufficient funds to participate.
This is how the FBI exploited the sad personal situations of their targets. “The government focused on a band of individuals with unstable personal histories (that left them extraordinarily susceptible to persuasion) and injected into the mix the kind of father-figure, military-hero role models the men craved in their lives.”
But it appears that at least a few of the feds have their own personal and professional shortcomings, to say the least. The lead FBI agent in the case, Richard Trask, was arrested in July for assaulting his wife after the couple attended a swinger’s party. Trask smashed his wife’s head on a nightstand and attempted to choke her, according to police reports.
Prosecutors have decided not to call Trask as a witness after discovering his texts that referred to President Trump as “a douchebag,” and “a piece of shit.” The agency fired Trask in early September.
Advancing the Plot
Defense lawyers are now seeking more information about FBI Special Agent Jayson Chambers, who owns an internet intelligence company on the side. His company’s Twitter account posted hints about the pending arrests before the news was public. Chambers’ personal financial interest in a business closely tied to his work as a federal investigator, one attorney argued, could help prove entrapment.
Not only was Chambers instrumental in the Whitmer kidnapping scheme, but he also suggested orchestrating a separate plot targeting Ralph Northam, the Democratic governor of Virginia. In September, Chambers texted his informant named “Big Dan,” the primary source involved in the Whitmer case. “Big Dan” was contacting another target, a man named “Frank,” in Virginia to ensnare the man in the FBI’s newest political plot. “Frank” is described in one filing as a Vietnam veteran in his late 60s who suffers from health issues and cannot drive.
Chambers made clear to “Big Dan” what he was supposed to convince “Frank” to do. “The mission is to kill the governor specifically,” Chambers texted. He further instructed “Big Dan” to tell “Frank” how to build an explosive device, an approach similar to the one used in the Whitmer scheme.
“This exchange speaks for itself,” attorney Scott Graham wrote. “The objective of the plot is clearly being derived and advanced by Special Agent Chambers. By issuing this edict, ‘Big Dan’ has been charged to develop that plot specifically. The plot in this case shares the same objective: the governor.”
Chambers and his partner, Special Agent Henrik Impola, worked closely with “Big Dan.” (The government has 1154 pages of FD-1023 reports, FBI documents that record the overall work of an informant, on “Big Dan.”) Text messages between the three men, according to another defense attorney, “indicate the F.B.I. was pushing their paid agent to actively recruit people into an overt act in furtherance of a conspiracy.”
In one text exchange, Impola instructs “Big Dan” to delete his texts after some raise suspicions that he was working with the feds. (Defense counsel believes prosecutors accidentally included screenshots of the texts in a discovery dump.)
I think it is a pattern that was apparent when Der Fuhrer appointed Herr Mueller FBI Head (9/4/01). It was apparent to conservatives the FBI would be going after supporters of Ronald Reagan. Hitting conservatives with “dirty deeds” many which could be illegal.
We – conservatives – found out 5 years ago Mueller’s dirty deeds were ILLEGAL!
5 years ago many of Herr Mueller’s villainies were not just apparent ; but obvious. But only conservatives said so. Liberals lied and said, “not so!”!
The 2 most important to me were:
John mcC and “Fusion GPS/ Steele Dossier”
2. Perkins-Coie , M. Sussman – Clinton.
Herr Mueller is no longer “on the payroll”; but the Ronny haters he hired and promoted are carrying on his turpitude. Case in point Julie’s article!
Gretchen is a Ronny hater of the “first order”! So many Ronny bakers are working hard to put an “ex” in front of her title. The FBI , to protect Gretchen, fabricated a kidnaping hoax! Reagan hater Richard Trask is an example of the folk hired by Mueller and his subordinates!
The only real crimes here were all FBIK crimes! As has been the
pattern for almost 20 years. SEE John mcC and Perkins-Coie above!
“dog whistles and tolerance of hate, vengeance, and lawlessness ” Democrats.
” “When our leaders meet with, encourage, and or fraternize with domestic terrorists, they legitimize their actions. They are complicit.”” Democrats. BLM. ANTIFA.
There are no plots against the left without the left instigating them. This is like if the FBI had bought the rifle used to shoot Scalice so they could arrest the shooter. The left commits the acts that infuriates those who actually care about this country, then they exploit that fury to entrap a few in crimes to prove their lies about the “violent right wing extremists” they pretend are a threat to the nation.
THEY are the threat to the nation.
so f**k up beyond imagination former fbi, now has a special agent jayson chambers, who owns an internet intelligence company on the side. WOW! I wonder how much intell, about 99%, he steals from the corrupt fbi and sells it to clients? having a very high security clearance his ability to purloin data and sensitive for sale would engender a lucrative second job. when one reads this post it would appear that these a**wipes are playing a children’s game. fbi agents are not bright contrary to what one see in the propaganda media shows. the fbi only solves crimes and situations which they fabricate. it would appear as though a double cross or turnabout in deception is being played out in this child’s game.it is failing miserably and evident that the players in the fbi are clueless on crafting a double cross
There is a very good seminal work by Barton Whaley: Turnabout And Deception. a very good reads, a work that all handlers in the fbi,cis(again useless and corrupt), dod, and the doj(major screw ups in the deception game) should read and digest.