Category: Politics
FBI whistleblower pans bureau for alleged ‘gross misconduct’ and ‘fraud’ in early Jan. 6 pipe-bomb investigation
The Biden FBI is guilty of “gross misconduct and/or fraud” for calling off surveillance of an early person of interest in the Jan. 6 pipe-bomb case, an FBI whistleblower alleges in a letter to Congress. The letter refers to events that occurred nearly five years before Blaze News disclosed that the surveillance subject lived next door to a Capitol Police officer who is now a potential forensic match to the gait of the bomb suspect.
After reading the Nov. 10 protected whistleblower disclosure from an FBI supervisory special agent who is still at the bureau and a Nov. 8 Blaze News investigation of the pipe-bombs case, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie believes the FBI “has been engaged in a cover-up” or has been “grossly incompetent.”
“Either way,” Massie (R-Ky.) told Blaze News in a statement, “these latest revelations about the pipe-bomb investigation require answers from the new FBI director.”
The Blaze News investigation said former Capitol Police Officer Shauni Rae Kerkhoff, 31, appears to be a forensic match to the gait of the pipe-bomb suspect. A forensic gait analysis arranged by Blaze News rated Kerkhoff’s stride as a 94% match to the individual shown on video planting pipe bombs the night of Jan. 5, 2021.
The gait analysis used a computer algorithm to analyze walking parameters including flexion (knee bend), hip extension, speed, step length, cadence, and variance. The veteran analyst who ran the study said based on visual observations the program can struggle with, he personally pegged the match at closer to 98%.
Kerkhoff has not been charged with any criminal conduct by any law enforcement agency in connection with the pipe-bomb incident.
The FBI has not responded to Blaze News requests for comment.
Attorney Kurt Siuzdak of Madison, Conn., filed a 10-page protected disclosure on behalf of his client, the whistleblower, with Massie and U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), among the most active lawmakers still investigating Jan. 6 and its aftermath. Loudermilk is the chairman of the House Select Subcommittee to Investigate the Remaining Questions Surrounding Jan. 6.
The FBI supervisor said that “after FBI agents came within yards of the person who has been identified” in Blaze News’ reporting, “the FBI surveillance team agents were ordered to cease their investigation, denied permission to conduct at least one logical interview, immediately removed from surveillance, and reassigned to do general leads work,” Siuzdak wrote.
“The ‘neighbor’ identified below [in the whistleblower complaint] lived within feet of [Person of Interest 3] and she appears to be the same individual as investigative reporter Steve Baker identified as a former U.S. Capital [sic] Police officer, who is currently associated with a U.S. intelligence agency,” Siuzdak wrote.
After the FBI identified several persons of interest in the pipe-bombs case, Squad 21 of the Washington Field Office Intelligence Division was assigned to do “FISUR,” or physical surveillance, in the Bailey’s Crossroads section of Falls Church, Va.
Kyle Seraphin, who was then a member of Squad 21, told Blaze News the surveillance lasted two days before the squad was pulled off the case without warning.
The new whistleblower said the female next-door neighbor of the man being surveilled was photographed by FBI agents.
“The ‘neighbor’ had been photographed by the FBI surveillance team, and her photograph and attire are similar to the individual who [allegedly] placed the devices,” Siuzdak said.
The FBI had already determined that the man referred to in FBI documents as Person of Interest 3 should be interviewed by agents. But when Seraphin proposed that he do a “knock and talk” at the man’s door, the idea was rejected, Siuzdak said.
The suspected pipe bomber moves to a bench behind the Democratic National Committee building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021. FBI
The face-to-face interview with POI3 “would have obviously led to the doorstep of the ‘neighbor,’” Siuzdak wrote. “However, investigative steps offered by the FBI agents in the field were rejected, and agents were immediately reassigned. The discontinuation of the investigation was described [by the whistleblower] as improper.”
Kerkhoff is named in consumer, banking, and credit records as having resided next door to the man under surveillance. She later moved to Alexandria, Va. When Blaze News editor in chief Christopher Bedford visited the area of Alexandria near her residence the night of Nov. 7, the curtains were drawn, two civilian-looking vehicles were in the driveway, one civilian-looking truck was out front, and a fourth vehicle pulled up after Bedford parked. Two plainclothesmen got out of the final car, and a third joined them from inside the house. The three men stood sentry in front of the home for a time.
The local police responded to Bedford’s visit, and when he tried to drive away, he was quickly pulled over and asked why he was in the area. The local police promptly allowed him to go after he provided his ID and explained the reason why he was near the address.
Internal FBI documents included in the protected whistleblower disclosure corroborated information contained in a January 2025 report from the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight.
According to the documents, the FBI had investigated an individual known as POI2, who was seen on surveillance video taking photographs behind the Capitol Hill Club the morning of Jan. 5 — about nine hours before an unknown subject in a grey hoodie placed a pipe bomb next to a row of rolling commercial garbage tubs.
The pipe bomb suspect (above left) walking west on C Street toward Rumsey Court, stopping in front of a congressional rooming house (upper right), possibly looking to place a pipe bomb on Jan. 5, 2021. Capitol Police squad cars (below) with lights engaged were across the street as the suspect walked down the court to plant the bomb. FBI/@Armitas/U.S. Capitol Police CCTV
The man left the area and later returned to walk through Rumsey Court, which runs behind the Capitol Hill Club and the Republican National Committee building. When he was later questioned by FBI agents, the man claimed he was taking photographs of “objects bearing numerals” for a book project.
Agents used surveillance video to track the man through part of the day Jan. 5. He arrived at the Capitol South Metro Station from the East Falls Church Metro Station at 9:58 a.m. Capitol Police “observed POI2 switching hats when we [sic] exits South Capitol Metro,” an FBI report said.
After taking photographs behind the Capitol Hill Club, POI2 walked around the U.S. Capitol complex and met with two unknown individuals, the House report said.
The FBI considered POI2’s behavior suspicious and said he could be considered a possible accomplice to the pipe bomber.
The man again walked through Rumsey Court before proceeding to the Capitol South Metro Station and riding the train back to Falls Church, Va., where he arrived at 6:53 p.m.
FBI records show that Person of Interest 2 was dropped off at the East Falls Church Metro by a Volkswagen Tiguan registered to Person of Interest 3, who was put under surveillance by the FBI a week later. Person of Interest 2 used a prepaid Metro SmarTrip card to pay for the train rides. The SmarTrip card was purchased by Person of Interest 3, the FBI said.
The FBI interviewed Person of Interest 2, who was not identified in the investigative documents Blaze News reviewed, on Jan. 19, 2021. The man was subsequently dismissed as no longer a person of interest in the pipe-bombs case. The FBI also cleared Person of Interest 3 of having any role in the placement of the bombs.
The U.S. House report said the FBI did not explain on what basis it cleared Persons of Interest 2 and 3, indicate how the men knew each other, or explain how Person of Interest 2 obtained the other man’s prepaid SmarTrip card.
In a Nov. 12 story, the Daily Wire reported that “law enforcement suspected a particular Falls Church, Virginia man’s Metro card of being linked to the case, and also that the Capitol Police officer was in fact his neighbor, literally sharing a wall with him.”
The man told the Wire his Metro card “was used by a childhood friend who traveled from the south to attend Trump’s rally, and stayed with him to save money. The Air Force vet let him borrow his card and picked him up from the Metro station in Virginia after the rally, he said. Both men are Trump supporters, he said.”
The man said he had been interviewed on the matter by what he believes to be Metro transit police, as was his visiting friend. Furthermore, the man told the Daily Wire that he does not believe his Metro card was used by his neighbor, the Capitol Police officer, on January 5.
Blaze News was unable to independently confirm the Wire’s report. Blaze News investigative reporter Steve Baker knocked on the front door of the man’s townhouse on Nov. 9, but he declined to comment.
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Joe Rogan says reaction to Kirk assassination shows the US is close to civil war
Joe Rogan said that the reaction of many to the assassination of Charlie Kirk persuaded him to think the U.S. is closer to a civil war than he previously believed.
Rogan made the comments on the Tuesday edition of his incredibly popular podcast while talking to guest Brian Redban.
‘After the Charlie Kirk thing, I’m like, oh, we might be like seven. This might be like step seven on the way to a bona fide civil war.’
“Charlie Kirk gets shot and people are celebrating! Like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You want people to die that you disagree with?” Rogan asked.
“Where are we right now on the scale of one to civil war? Where are we? Are we at seven? Because I thought we were at five. I thought we were like four, four or five,” he said.
“But after the Charlie Kirk thing, I’m like, oh, we might be like seven. This might be like step seven on the way to a bona fide civil war,” Rogan added.
The conservative activist was shot and killed during one of his campus tour events on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University. While most reacted in horror and sorrow, some on the left have made public statements of ghoulish joy at his death.
“Like regular people celebrating somebody getting murdered in front of their wife and kid on television, in front of the whole world? As soon as you celebrate that, like, man, you’re in dark territory,” Rogan continued.
“And if the worst thing you could say about that guy is that he said some things I disagree with, and you’re celebrating that he got shot in the neck in front of the world?” he added. “Whoa, and you work at an insurance company? This is nuts. And you thought it was OK to say that on Instagram? This is nuts! Like what are you guys on?”
RELATED: Liberals spew hatred against moment of silence for Charlie Kirk on Thursday Night Football
A clip of Rogan’s comments was posted to social media, where they went viral.
Erika Kirk has taken up the mantle of the director of Turning Point USA, the organization that her late husband founded.
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Newsom’s former chief of staff arrested on political corruption charges — and the governor tries to blame Trump
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s presidential hopes hit another stumbling block after his former chief of staff was arrested for alleged political corruption Wednesday.
Dana Williamson, 53, was indicted by a federal grand jury for nearly two dozen counts, and she was arrested, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in California.
A statement from a spokesperson for Newsom suggested that President Donald Trump was abusing the legal process to punish his political opponents.
Prosecutors allege that Williamson illegally funneled approximately $225,000 from a dormant political campaign to various business entities for an associate’s personal use between Feb. 2022 and Sept. 2024.
Williamson allegedly “conspired with a business associate to create false, backdated contracts” after she was subpoenaed over Paycheck Protection Program loans to her business.
She also is accused of illegally reporting personal expenditures as business deductions on falsified tax forms. The more than $1 million in expenditures included “private jet travel, luxury hotel stays, home furnishings, and designer handbags,” according to the release.
A statement from a spokesperson for Newsom suggested that President Donald Trump was abusing the legal process to punish his political opponents.
“Ms. Williamson no longer serves in this administration. While we are still learning details of the allegations, the governor expects all public servants to uphold the highest standards of integrity,” read the statement. “At a time when the president is openly calling for his attorney general to investigate his political enemies, it is especially important to honor the American principle of being innocent until proven guilty in a court of law by a jury of one’s peers.”
However, the press release indicated that the investigation began under the Biden administration, undermining Newsom’s suggestion.
RELATED: Gavin Newsom lashes out at Joe Rogan for accusing him of ruining California: ‘He did horrible s**t!’
“This is a crucial step in an ongoing political corruption investigation that began more than three years ago,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant. “As it always has, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to protect the people of California from political corruption.”
If convicted, Williamson faces decades in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
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Task force locates 101 missing children, arrests so many suspects the Memphis jail is running out of room: Report
A task force operation in Tennessee has led to 101 missing children cases being cleared, according to the U.S. Marshals, who also said more than 1,000 warrants had been cleared.
The Memphis Safe Task Force has been in operation for only several weeks, but the operation has led to more than 2,300 arrests and the seizure of over 389 firearms.
‘While investigative work is tedious, locating missing and endangered children is one of the things we are most proud of.’
The National Guard is a part of 31 state and federal agencies contributing to the Memphis Safe State Task Force.
“We are happy that we have been able to use our fugitive hunting skills to assist local and state authorities with finding these missing children,” said U.S. Marshals spokesperson Emily Williams. “What a testament to our partnerships to be able to work these cases together. While investigative work is tedious, locating missing and endangered children is one of the things we are most proud of.”
One case involved a 15-year-old who had been reported as a runaway on Sept. 1 and had allegedly indicated suicidal feelings. A tipster said that he had witnessed the boy living in a minivan with his father on his property in Hawaii. The property owner tried to kick them out of the location, but the man refused.
Officials said the father had a long criminal history that included domestic violence, abuse, drugs, battery, and burglary, both in California as well as Hawaii. On Nov. 6, the boy was recovered by officials and will be returned to Tennessee.
The dramatic increase in arrests has led to a shortage of space at the Shelby County Jail, according to Sheriff Floyd Bonner.
“When we were notified that the surge was going to occur, we started talking to the national marshals services, telling them that we weren’t prepared for this, but we couldn’t stop it, and we couldn’t delay it, they said it was going to happen,” said Bonner to WREG-TV. “We’ve been scrambling for a month now trying to get contracts signed and going back and forth with attorneys.”
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office also confirmed that three inmates had died separately at the jail in just over a week’s time.
Other organizations involved in the task force included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Health and Human Services, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency.
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Gavin Newsom tries to hit Trump administration on energy prices — and gets humiliated online
Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom tried to criticize the rise in energy costs under the Trump administration — and then was reminded that his state pays the highest costs for power.
In a social media post published Tuesday, the liberal governor tried to blame rising energy prices on President Donald Trump’s global warming skepticism. The governor attended the COP30 climate change conference in Brazil and blasted the administration’s policies.
‘Gavin Newsom and the Democrats have NO credibility on the affordability issue.’
“Utility costs have risen 11% in the last year as Trump has promoted fossil fuels and curbed investment in solar and wind power. Climate change is an affordability issue,” posted the X account for Newsom’s press office.
Critics quickly reminded Newsom that California has little room to criticize national energy prices.
“Electricity cost have risen 64% since 2020 as Newsom has promoted ‘green’ energy and chased away investment in cheap, reliable power. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats have NO credibility on the affordability issue,” replied Corey Uhden, a regional development officer of the California GOP.
“Gavin Newsom is in Brazil touting his failed energy agenda — the same one that’s left Californians paying some of the highest gas and electricity prices in the nation,” replied Rep. Vince Fong (R-Calif.). “After harming our state’s domestic energy production, California now relies on foreign oil — and imports from Brazil have increased to 20% of our imported supply.”
“Gavin Newsom is probably the last person on the planet who should talk about energy affordability. Under his failed leadership California has the highest electricity rates in the lower 48 [and the] highest gas prices in the country,” replied Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.).
The White House piled on through a statement from a spokesperson.
“Governor Newscum flew all the way to Brazil to tout the Green New Scam, while the people of California are paying some of the highest energy prices in the county. Embarrassing!” said Taylor Rogers. “If Gavin News[o]m’s support for the climate agenda was sincere, he would not be attending a climate summit that required chopping down thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest for a special purpose highway. It’s time for Newscum and other countries to drop the climate facade!”
RELATED: Gavin Newsom lashes out at Joe Rogan for accusing him of ruining California: ‘He did horrible s**t!’
Newsom seems to be trying to position himself for the presidential nomination in 2028 by criticizing Trump. When the president won his second election, Newsom declared California the leader of anti-Trump state resistance.
Aside from the cost of energy, California has also been lambasted by critics for mismanagement of the energy grid that has led to deadly and damaging forest fires.
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