Posted on 08/30/2021 5:39:35 AM PDT by Red Badger
The revelations come at a sensitive time for the FBI and Director Christopher Wray, who has insisted widespread problems revealed about the bureau's conduct in the now-discredited Russia collusion case have been fixed even as new revelations of misconduct come to light.
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The FBI, already under fire for its handling of FISA warrants and confidential informants, is enduring more scrutiny as the Justice Department admits agents failed to disclose to a court that they had paid — to the tune of six figures — a white supremacist publisher for years to be an investigative source.
The admission came in a series of court filings this month in the case of Kaleb Cole, a Washington state man accused of being a member of the white supremacist group Atomwaffen and participating in an intimidation campaign against Jewish Americans and minority journalists. Cole has pleaded innocent and awaits trial.
Cole's lawyers filed a motion to suppress evidence gathered against their client on the grounds that the FBI had failed to disclose in a search warrant application that a publisher of extremist literature had been paid about $144,000 over 16 years to be an informant, including $82,000 for work in the case against Cole. The confidential informant (CI) also had an earlier felony conviction that wasn't disclosed, court records show.
The filings don't identify the informant by name but describe him as a publisher who "owns and operates a publishing company that distributes white supremacist writings."
"The CI began his long career as a professional informant in exchange for consideration regarding his sentence on a federal conviction for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and an unregistered silencer," Cole's lawyers argued in an Aug. 13 motion.
"The failure to include the information about the CI's incentives is made more egregious by the fact that the warrant application incriminated Mr. Cole based almost solely on the alleged observations of the CI," the lawyers added.
You can read that filing here:
File motiontosuppressCalebCole.pdf
https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2021-08/gov.uscourts.wawd_.284365.200.0_1.pdf
A week later, the Justice Department admitted agents had mistakenly omitted the information, but argued the search warrant would have been approved anyway before the informant's information had been corroborated.
"Although the defense is correct that certain potential impeachment information about the informant was not included in the affidavit, that omission is hardly fatal," the DOJ said. "The omitted information was limited to the fact that the informant was well compensated by the FBI over a 16-year period, and was convicted of a firearms crime over 15 years ago."
You can read the government's filing here:
File gov.uscourts.wawd_.284365.200.0_1.pdf U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour has yet to rule on the motion.
But the revelations come at a sensitive time for the FBI and Director Christopher Wray, who has insisted widespread problems revealed about the bureau's conduct in the now-debunked Russia collusion case have been fixed even as new revelations of oversights and misconduct come to light.
DOJ's internal watchdog, Inspector General Michael Horowitz, has filed numerous reports in recent months slamming the FBI for failing to remove and punish sexual harassers, for mismanaging confidential human sources and repeatedly filing inaccurate search warrants in Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act proceedings.
In addition, special prosecutor John Durham continues an investigation into whether FBI supervisors, agents or lawyers committed crimes during the Russia probe. One ex-FBI lawyer has already pleaded guilty to falsifying evidence.
And new questions have emerged about the FBI's conduct during an investigation into an alleged white supremacist plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, after Buzzfeed News disclosed the FBI had more informants involved in the plot, 12 in total, than defendants.
"Working in secret, they did more than just passively observe and report on the actions of the suspects," Buzzfeed reported. "Instead, they had a hand in nearly every aspect of the alleged plot, starting with its inception. "The extent of their involvement raises questions as to whether there would have even been a conspiracy without them."
Hoover taught them well..............................
Good observation. More truth in this statement than anything the FBI has said lately.
Durham must be trying to pad his retirement...
Cole’s lawyers filed a motion to suppress evidence gathered against their client on the grounds that the FBI had failed to disclose in a search warrant application that a publisher of extremist literature had been paid about $144,000 over 16 years to be an informant, including $82,000 for work in the case against Cole. The confidential informant (CI) also had an earlier felony conviction that wasn’t disclosed, court records show.
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If we defunded the FBI we would eliminate most all of the terrorist and extremist activity in the country.
The 99% of FBI informants and instigators give the remaining 1% of actual white supremacists a bad name.
All kidding aside, would there be any real problem without the FBI entrapping people to support the party narrative?
FBI is totally politicized and corrupt…they are the demonrats’s SS…
This Wray needs to be gone. He is a disgrace. Liar and criminal.
Hover is rolling in his grave-—dress & all.
"Mary, I can cross my legs more effeminately than you can! Woo!"
Trump should have immediately fired him after that whole Roger Stone act for CNN.
SEE SEE!!!!
White Supremacism is on the RISE!!!!
I mean we must lock down them red necks in rural America because this man was able to slip past the radar....
Oh... Wait...
I’ve heard it said you should never talk to federal agents unless a video camera is running - preferably in your attorney’s office.
I have no personal experience.
Yes. You are under no obligation to talk to them unless you have your OWN attorney present..............
It wouldn’t surprise me if they spread $10-million around forty different radical groups in the US. Even BLM probably has two or three undercover FBI guys as part of the situation.
If you haven’t seen Richard Jewell you should. The FBI was on full display in that movie.
“...participating in an intimidation campaign against Jewish Americans and minority journalists.”
Since money is fungible, the FBI used taxpayer dollars to subsidize a racist, anti-Semitic intimidation campaign. Then they can say that white supremacy is rampant. FBI needs to go.
If they can label you a domestic terrorists for objecting to those things, the Patriot act kicks in and you have no due process, kinda like all other right leaning citizens dealing with the FBI, including Trump.
I expect 1/2 of “white supremacists” to be either FBI informants or “recruits” of such informants. So fi you want an FBI career in a particular niche, you go out and grow that niche - it’s job protection.
I think it is similar to the war on drugs, which I imagine has plenty of DEA folks who are part of the drug trade corruption with the cartels, because there is job security in keeping the mess going.
There are natural obstacles that prevent morons from doing bad things. For the FBI to facilitate those bad things in order to have an airtight case is a failure of justice.
They’re apparently like unicorns.
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