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Catherine Herridge

Four years later the FBI releases new footage of Jan 6 Pipe Bomber

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11 minute read

TOP LINE:
A seasoned law enforcement contact believes the FBI’s pipe bomber probe is “absolutely a cold case,” and the newly released video footage and details about the suspect are part of the bureau’s “tickle the wire” approach to generate new leads.
The story of January 6th will never be fully understood until the pipe bomber is identified and their motive revealed.
DEEP DIVE:
This week, the FBI released new details and previously unseen video footage of its high priority suspect.  I write ‘high priority’ because the reward, of up to $500k, is the kind of reward typically associated with global terrorist networks.
Pipe Bomb /DNC Office
Pipe Bomb / RNC
The timeline is well documented.
On the evening of January 5th 2021, sometime between 7:30 and 8:30 pm, the suspect planted two viable pipe bombs.  One device was left near a bench outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) office and a second device was planted in an alleyway behind the Republican National Committee (RNC) office.  Both locations are a few short blocks from the U.S. Capitol building.
“When investigators lack leads or want to ‘tickle the wire,’ they may use things like crime anniversaries..to help get them fresh leads,”  Scott Sweetow, a retired ATF and former acting Director of the FBI’s Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center, explained.

YouTube video by FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation

Seeking Information on Capitol Hill Pipe Bomb Suspect
Over the years, I have discussed the case with Sweetow and others.  Some of the newly released information struck both of us as probably not ‘new’ to investigators.
The FBI estimates the pipe bomber’s height at 5’7”.  Having convered the FBI since 9/11, it’s the kind of basic information I would expect investigators to immediately release. Asked if the FBI sat on the details, Sweetow said it also struck him as odd.
“Typically, in any investigation, you want to get maximum information out to the public to spur leads as opposed to waiting,”  Sweetow said. “If there is particularly sensitive information which cannot be released, sometimes it is a tactical decision to withhold that, but given the length of time that has passed since the attempted bombings, it really made little investigative sense to hold back information like this for as long as they did.”
National Explosives Task Force “Quick Look” Report – January 7, 2021
I was among the first journalists to report on the pipe bombs. Three days after the pipe bombs were discovered, I obtained this law enforcement bulletin that raised questions about the bomber’s timing and motive.
The choice of the RNC and DNC had obvious political overtones. According to the law enforcement records, the RNC device was reported at approximately 12:45 pm eastern on January 6th in the alley, wedged next to a garbage bin.  The DNC device was found a half hour later, at approximately 13:15 pm eastern, in the bushes outside the building.
Both devices were planted in lightly trafficked areas, suggesting the pipe bomber’s goal was to attract attention and not to inflict the greatest number of casualties.
In March 2021, I reviewed a second law enforcement report that summarized the FBI lab’s forensic report.  A key finding: both devices relied on mechanical kitchen timers.
March 2021 National Explosives Task Force Report
“both devices’ switches consisted of a generic kitchen timer”
The Task Force report read, “…the forensic examination of a pipe bomb (device 1) indicated the device contained a powdery substance consistent with the oxidizer potassium nitrate, the fuel sulfur, and a fuel consistent with charcoal.  A second pipe bomb (device 2) contained the low explosive black powder which consisted of the oxidizer potassium nitrate, the fuel sulphur and a fuel consistent with charcoal….Both devices’ switches consisted of a generic kitchen timer.”
“A wire ran from the zero side of the timer to the positive side of the 9-volt snap connector on device 1. The igniters on both devices consisted of one piece of steel wool with two alligator clips.”
Mechanical Kitchen Timers
The pipe bombs had some sophistication, combining a mechanical timer and electrical ignition system. There was no secondary means of detonating the devices.  My contacts report most pipe bombs recovered in the US have a simpler design.
When you are investigating a story, there is no substitute for going to the scene, and getting as close to the evidence as possible.  With some research, and the help of long time contacts, I purchased a similar kitchen timer (above.)
I was struck by a flaw that is apparently well known to bomb techs. The 60 minute timers depend on the mechanical energy of a spring. If they are not properly wound, the electrical circuit will not be completed and the device will malfunction.
While the photos are grainy, it appears at least one timer may have stopped short of “zero,” but it’s hard to say for sure.
All of this suggests the pipe bombs may have been designed to explode on January 5th. An explosion that night, hours before the Certification of Electoral Votes, would have fundamentally changed Capitol Hill’s security posture.
“Washington DC would have been locked down in a way few people have encountered, and substantial resources would have been marshaled due to the concern of additional attacks. Had this occurred, it is highly unlikely the subsequent events of January 6th could have occurred, as the capital would likely have been severely locked down,” Sweetow explained.
While the bomb maker(s) may not have understood the potential flaw inherent in the use of kitchen timers, the apparent lack of DNA evidence suggests the bomb maker was not an amateur.
“This is absolutely a cold case. In the immediate aftermath of the bombing, the FBI threw massive resources at the case, which is certainly understandable given the political nature of the targets and the location being Washington DC,”  Sweetow emphasized. “The lack of forensic evidence in this case is highly unusual, and one of the most problematic things facing investigators.”
Aside from the newly released details from the FBI about the bomber’s height and distinctive sneakers, security videos from the street reveal another clue.  Almost as unique as DNA, it’s called “gait analysis”.
Gait analysis is the way a person walks, their mannerisms, how they carry themselves. It can be a very powerful investigative tool.  Military and law enforcement sources tell me they use gait analysis to help identify targets in the field.
“I have long felt that the mannerisms of the suspect, to include their gait, the way they bent over multiple times, and generally carried themselves was highly suggestive of a female,” Sweetow said.  His analysis was backed up by a second contact, a retired Special Forces officer.
It is hard to reconcile the known facts in the pipe bomber case.   Massive resources were expended by the FBI, but no suspect(s) have been publicly identified.  The suspect seen in the videos may not be the bomb maker and, in fact, investigators maybe looking for a small cell.
While the bomb maker may have been tripped up by the kitchen timers, they were expert enough to apparently avoid leaving significant DNA evidence.
And lastly, the motive may have been distraction after a contentious election, not an explosion with significant casualties.
“Sometimes you never actually discover what the intent is of a bomber,” Sweetow said in closing. “The choice of political targets, following a very contentious election and impending congressional certification implies a political motive for the bomber.  Because of that, it is possible the suspect wanted to cause general chaos in the National Capital Region in the hopes of eliciting some sort of action, although what that action was is difficult to say.”
This is a worthy case for the next FBI Director.
For its part, according to the AP, the FBI “has assessed over 600 tips, reviewed about 39,000 video files and conducted more than 1,000 interviews over the past four years.”

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Best, Catherine

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Catherine Herridge

FBI imposed Hunter Biden laptop ‘gag order’ after employee accidentally confirmed authenticity: report

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Doug Mainwaring

Two independent journalists found that the FBI could have set the record straight by confirming the laptop was real and the subject of an ongoing criminal probe. Instead, FBI leadership allowed the false narrative about the laptop to gain momentum.

In a shocking report published on X, independent journalists Catherine Herridge and Michael Shellenberger revealed that an FBI agent accidentally confirmed to Twitter (now known as “X”) that the Hunter Biden laptop story was real less than three weeks before the 2020 election.

“For the first time, and with a change of administration, the FBI has now turned over to GOP House investigators the internal chat messages that show Bureau leadership actively silenced its employees,” Herridge and Shellenberger wrote on X.

“The FBI, which had a special task force to counter foreign election interference, could have set the record straight by confirming the laptop was real and the subject of an ongoing criminal probe,” the journalists explained. “Instead, FBI leadership allowed the false narrative about the laptop to gain momentum.”

“In 2024, an FBI official admitted to House investigators that an FBI employee had inadvertently confirmed the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop to Twitter on a conference call the morning of October 14, 2020, the day the New York Post published a story about it,” Shellenberger wrote.

“I recall that when the question came up, an intelligence analyst assigned to the Criminal Investigative Division said something to the effect of, ‘Yes, the laptop is real,’” testified the then-Russia Unit Chief of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force in a closed-door transcribed interview,” according to Herridge and Shellenberger. “I believe it was an (Office of General Counsel) attorney assigned to the (Foreign Influence Task Force) stepped in and said, ‘We will not comment further on this topic.’”

They recounted this exchange:

An individual whose name is blacked out, tells Elvis M. Chan, the San Francisco-based FBI special agent tasked with interacting with social media companies, there was a “gag order” on discussion of Hunter Biden’s laptop. In a separate exchange, Chan is told “official response no commen(t).”

In the chat, the FBI officials showed awareness that the laptop may have contained evidence of criminal activity.

Asked Chan, “actually what kind of case is the laptop thing? corruption? campaign financing?”

Another FBI employee responds, “CLOSE HOLD —” after which the response is redacted.

To which Chan responds, “oh crap,” appearing to underscore the serious nature of the probe, which included felony tax charges. Chan adds, “ok. It ends here.”

In the same conversation, Chan is asked if “anyone discussing that NYPost article on the Biden’s?”  Chan responds, “yes we are. c d confirmed an active investigation. No further comment.”  “C D” is likely shorthand for the FBI’s Criminal Division.

Said another FBI employee, whose name was redacted by the Bureau, “please do not discuss biden matter.”

It’s now common knowledge that national security agencies — including the FBI and CIA, Big Tech, and much of corporate media — colluded in suppressing truth and manufacturing lies in order to drag their preferred candidate, Joe Biden, across the finish line in the 2020 presidential election.

Incriminating evidence discovered on the laptop that Hunter Biden had long ago abandoned at a computer repair shop — reported on in two devastating pieces by the New York Post at the time — was ignored by mainstream media, fraudulently dismissed by former national intelligence officials, and essentially made inaccessible to the public by Big Tech social media sites Twitter and Facebook.

The computer contained emails showing that then-Vice President Biden had come under the influence of bad actors in Ukraine and Communist China and had used his powerful position in the Obama administration to pressure government Ukrainian officials into firing a prosecutor who was investigating the energy firm, Burisma, which was paying the younger Biden $50,000 per month to sit on its board of directors.

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Catherine Herridge

How ‘Woke’ Broke The FB

Published on

 Author  Catherine Herridge

We Obtain Internal FBI DEI Guide On Managing Unconscious Bias

TOP LINE  
An internal FBI inclusivity “Guide,” obtained by our investigative team, counseled agents on “Ways to Manage Your Unconscious Bias,” “Micro-Inequities” and “How to Improve Your Inclusive Intelligence.”
“The New IQ: Your Guide to Sustaining Inclusive Habits in the Workplace” was widely shared in mid-2020 and includes nine “tips” to counter unconscious bias.
Separately, as part of our investigation, recently retired FBI agents said they saw, firsthand, how law enforcement capabilities were compromised because merit took a backseat to DEI priorities.
They dubbed the legendary FBI Quantico Training Academy the “Participation Academy” because of headquarter’s pressure to “push through” poorly performing candidates to meet their DEI objectives.
The retired agents said FBI Director Patel inherits a workforce where standards dropped impacting physical fitness of agents, their firearms skills as well as professional qualifications, putting the FBI mission and safety at risk.
DEEP DIVE
More than a half dozen recently retired FBI agents agreed to speak with me on a confidential basis.  They said they feared retaliation for describing their experiences with the FBI’s DEI initiatives. While fiercely loyal to the bureau, they said they felt compelled to come forward, citing a dangerous reduction in standards that they believe endanger agents and the public.
The group of retired agents was diverse.  It included male, female, Asian, Black and White agents from field offices in different parts of the country.  Their work experience covered multiple facets of the recruitment and training process. Everyone I spoke with offered a first hand account of DEI’s impact.
FBI DEI Guide Defines “Unconscious Bias”
The retired agents told me they valued diversity because it could strengthen the FBI mission but in recent years, the agents said FBI leadership took the attitude the bureau was “too White.”   The decline, they said, began under FBI Director Mueller who made the DC Headquarters his focus.  They said it accelerated under FBI Director Comey. They blamed Director Wray for standing by as the “train wreck happened.”
“Ways To Manage Your Unconscious Bias”
I was told that the physical fitness performance of candidates declined. The requirements include timed sit-ups (1 minute), timed 300-m sprint, untimed push-up maximum and timed 1.5 mile run.
The retired agents described recruits who had an “attitude problem.” The recruits would quit the long distance run or claim injuries if they thought they would not pass a requirement.   The number of successfully completed push ups was routinely low because many recruits didn’t have the skill or strength to follow the required protocol (i.e bad form, not low enough.)
What I learned about firearms training was also concerning.  I was told some recruits lacked the “mental toughness” to competently handle guns. Other candidates had documented mental health issues.  While their performance was poor, there was a “push them through Quantico attitude.”
The backbone of FBI investigations is a witness interview summary known as a “302.”  In some cases, new agents lacked basic writing skills to complete a 302, in part, because work experience requirements had been relaxed.  Once poor performing recruits were “pushed through Quantico,” the hope was that FBI Field Offices would fix them.
While the retired agents said diversity was valuable to the bureau it had taken precedence over merit. They said they looked up to the FBI when they joined and are hopeful Director Patel can restore and reverse this decline.
These retired FBI agents are solution oriented and respectfully asked if Director Patel would be willing to meet with them because they understand where the change needs to happen internally.
Describing how “woke broke the FBI,” one of the agents shared the wrenching personal decision to discourage their child from following in their professional footsteps. Something that would have been inconceivable during most of their time with the Bureau.
FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said, ““Director Patel’s new FBI will be an entirely mission focused institution — working every day to get criminals off our streets, keep the American people safe, and let good agents be good agents. We are aggressively working to abide by any Presidential directive to root out politically motivated, social engineering projects — they have zero home here and never will as long as Director Patel is at the helm.”

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The full FBI DEI workplace guide is available to our subscribers.

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