If the FBI Was Not Involved in Inciting Violence on Jan. 6, Wouldn't They Just Say So?

Ted Cruz (not my favorite senator at the moment) may have read some of the widely-deserved criticism a bunch of us have been hurling at him, because he appears to be trying to get to the bottom of the FBI’s involvement in the Jan. 6 riots. (“Appears” is an important word here, because, most likely, no action will follow his eloquent questioning.)

Cruz interrogated the FBI Executive Assistant Director of the National Security Branch, Jill Sandborn, about the role the FBI played. Her responses do not inspire confidence that the federal government wasn’t inciting violence that day.

“How many FBI agents or confidential informants actively participated in the events of January 6th?” asked Cruz.

“Sir, I’m sure you can appreciate that I can’t go into the specifics of sources and methods, uhhh,” replied Sanborn.

Cruz then asked Sandborn if the FBI participated and demanded she answer yes or no. “I can’t answer that,” she replied.

Cruz continued, “Did any FBI agents or confidential informants commit crimes of violence on January 6th?”

Sandborn again replied, “I can’t answer that.”

Each time Cruz tried to nail down the FBI’s involvement, Sandborn dodged with a refusal to answer. If the FBI was not involved, wouldn’t they say so? What is the purpose of saying “I can’t answer that,” if not to cover up for whatever it is they did that day? And why can’t they be forced to show senators the files of their informants? Isn’t that something our senators are entitled to see?

Cruz went on to ask several questions about Ray Epps, the man who was filmed multiple times on the day of the riot encouraging others to commit violence and break through police barriers. “The FBI put out a public post seeking information on individuals connected with violent crimes on January 6th. Among the individuals is Mr. Epps,” said Cruz. “Sometime later, magically, Mr. Epps disappeared from the public posting. According to public records, Mr. Epps has not been charged with anything. No one has explained why a person videoed urging people to go to the Capitol, a person whose conduct was so suspect, the crowd believed he was a fed, would magically disappear from the list of people the FBI was looking at,” Cruz argued. “Ms. Sandborn, a lot of Americans are concerned that the federal government deliberately encouraged illegal and violent conduct on January 6th.”

Cruz did not let up on Sandborn, demanding she respond. “This is a question of public accountability. Did federal agents or those in service of federal agencies actively encourage violent and criminal conduct on January 6th?”

“Not to my knowledge, sir,” replied Sandborn, finally denying criminal behavior by the FBI after saying at least six times that she could not answer that question. Why?

.@SenTedCruz: "Did any FBI agents or confidential informants actively participate in the events of January 6th? Yes or no?"

FBI's Jill Sanborn: "I can't answer that." pic.twitter.com/Z5Sj1tSyNx

— CSPAN (@cspan) January 11, 2022

The mainstream press is out in force today, trying to “debunk” the idea that feds were involved. In reponse, Julie Kelly has put together a great thread of the evidence that points to federal agents inside the crowd. Kelly raises questions that should be answered by the FBI, such as, why did the police allow 300 people to walk into the Capitol and never tell them the building was “closed” or off limits? And, why is the founder of the Three Percenters, whose members were many of those arrested on Jan. 6, a fed named Steve Robeson, who was also connected to the FBI-concocted plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer?

The New York Times already outed two FBI informants who were embedded with the Proud Boys when the first breach of the perimeter happened. (So there goes the “we can’t answer that” strategy; The New York Times already did, duh.) Kelly also pointed out these guys, who have not been identified and are very sus, wearing earpieces at the protest.

So @baseballcrank denies fed involvement in J6 and suggests the only reason I conclude J6 was an inside job is to sell books.

Since Dan has done zero reporting on J6, I will offer a few examples of how cops, agitators incited the crowd and let protesters into the building… https://t.co/iB2YnQU3yM

— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) January 11, 2022

And what about this Newsweek report that said “secret commandos with shoot to kill instructions” from Quantico were inside the Capitol on Jan. 6? What were they doing there? If the FBI was not involved, then they should open the records and be transparent so we can put this to rest. Being cagey and saying “I can’t answer that” does not engender the trust we need in our taxpayer-funded institutions, which are charged with protecting our rights, not setting up our citizens to be thrown in jail without trial dates while they are tortured in solitary confinement.

Did the FBI incite a riot? We have a right to know.