BOMBSHELL REPORT: FBI performs audit just to remember how many paid undercover informants it deployed at J6 Capitol rally

09/21/2023 / By Belle Carter

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had to perform an audit to determine the exact number of confidential human sources (CHS) it deployed during the January 6 Capitol “attack” back in 2021.

The bombshell information, where former FBI Assistant Director Steven D’Antuono revealed the damning fact, was exposed in an exclusive report by Miranda Devine of the New York Post on Tuesday, Sept. 19. D’Antuono, who was formerly in charge of the bureau’s Washington field office, told lawmakers behind closed doors at a House Judiciary Committee hearing that at least one informant was communicating with his FBI handler as he entered the Capitol.

He admitted his office was aware before the riot that some of the “undercover agents” would attend the “Stop the Steal” rally thrown by former President Donald Trump. However, he said that he only learned afterward that informants run by other field offices were also at the Capitol. As a result, the Washington field office asked FBI headquarters “to do a poll or put out something to people saying were any CHSs involved,” so they could find out how large the FBI’s surveillance operations were at the Capitol on Jan 6.

The former FBI executive further divulged that the responses from the headquarters revealed which field offices had planted confidential informants into the crowd. This included at least one paid informant from the Kansas City field office who was in communication with his FBI handler while the crowd surged into the Capitol. The “secret provocateur” said “they were going in. They were trying to stop some of the action happening and they left or whatnot.”

According to the NY Post, former Capitol Hill Police Chief Steven Sund previously revealed that the FBI also had at least 18 undercover agents in the crowd plus another 20 from the Department of Homeland Security. Also, as per the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, the law enforcement agency spends an average of $42 million each year in payments to its CHSs. When the committee asked how many informants exactly were in the crowd that the audit discovered that day, D’Antuono only said “a handful.”

In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) described D’Antuono’s testimony as “extremely concerning.” His correspondence included that the agency cannot adequately track the activities and operations of its informants and that it lost control of its CHSs present at the Capitol on January 6. “These revelations reinforce existing concerns, identified by Special Counsel John Durham, about the FBI’s use of, and payment to, CHSs who have fabricated evidence and misrepresented information,” he further said, adding that even the “Justice Department Inspector General also identified critical problems in the FBI’s CHS program, including the agency’s failure to fully vet CHSs and its willingness to ignore red flags that would call into question an informant’s reliability.”

Jordan requested that Wray provide a “substantive briefing” on how the FBI used paid informants on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as “…any specific guidelines or admonishments that were provided to FBI CHSs before deploying” along with all debriefing documents from Jan 6 riot informants. (Related: STAGED: Viral video reveals cops went undercover as Antifa in the crowd during J6 U.S. Capitol protest.)

AG Merrick Garland denies knowing the presence of government informants in the J6 riot

Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a House hearing Wednesday he did not know whether there were government informants present at the “riot” following D’Antuono’s testimony.

When asked by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, he replied: “I don’t know the answer to that question.” Massie grilled him further: “You don’t know how many there were, or there were none?” “I don’t know the answer to either of those questions. If there were any, I don’t know how many. I don’t know whether there are any,” Garland said. “I think you may have just perjured yourself,” said Massie, repeating the question if the AG does not know if there were any. Garland responded again, standing firm on his initial answer: “I have no personal knowledge on this matter.”

At this point, Massie brought up a conspiracy theory about Ray Epps, who sued Fox News for defamation over claims he was a government agent and the latter’s indictment on a misdemeanor charge, calling it a “joke” at a time when he said Garland and the DOJ are “sending grandmas to prison.” He then went on to complain about some of the sentences handed down for people convicted of taking part in the riot at the Capitol when lawmakers gathered to count the electoral votes. Massie also referenced the 22-year sentence of Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was arrested before January 6 for burning a church Black Lives Matter banner, and who wasn’t even at the Capitol.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz also hammered Garland on the J6 issue but did so after a clash over China and didn’t end up getting an answer. “So, did the FBI lose count of the number of paid informants on January 6th?” Gaetz asked him, immediately after accusing Hunter Biden of engaging in ‘bribery’ with Chinese officials. But the AG responded with: “Let me answer your question about China.” The congressman responded that he only got five minutes and that Garland “has already sort of screwed the pooch on China.” So, he pushed the query again, “On January 6 did you lose count of the number of federal assets, did you lose count and order an audit?”

Then, Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler alerted that Gaetz’s time had expired but still asked the AG to answer the question. Garland’s response dealt only with the China threat.

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