Thread by @SethAbramson

(🆚) BREAKING: New January 6 Willard Hotel "War Room" Participant Confirmed; Revelation May Implicate Trump's DHS in Insurrection

We're getting a clear view of who was in Trump's January 6 command center, and what they did there. Please share this widely. sethabramson.substack.com/p/breaking-new…

1/ This breaking news was the byproduct of—no exaggeration—*hundreds* of citizen journalists converging on a single pressing issue related to the insurrection and providing PROOF with hundreds of pages of documents and websites and photos to review. This is the tip of an iceberg.

2/ When I reported on Joe Oltmann being in the Willard Hotel war room—and PROOF will have a major follow-up on Oltmann shortly—I couldn't figure out how Team Trump had such ready access to DHS secretary Chad Wolf *in the midst of* an armed attack on the U.S. Capitol. Now we know.

3/ DHS secretary Chad Wolf's former executive secretary was in Trump's command center as the attack on the Capitol unfolded. Oltmann saying he knew what Wolf was saying backchannel on January 6 now makes more sense. It also may explain how he got in the State Department that day.

4/ I don't want to get ahead of myself here—PROOF has about five more major stories to break this week—but the story of the Willard Hotel is, I promise you, by this Sunday, about to be the absolute wildest front in the insurrection investigation this side of the US Captiol steps.

5/ Apologies for this report coming out 45 minutes later than expected—it turned out there was a final interview I needed to listen to to see if there was major content that needed to be added to the article. And as it turned out there was, so I believe the wait will be worth it.

6/ The other thing to keep in mind is how careful PROOF is being here. I'm now working with literally hundreds of tips at a time and I want to be certain—and am being certain—that the level of meticulous sourcing and careful curation PROOF is known for isn't sagging even an iota.

7/ Here's the longer view the articles will establish: there is no longer any reason to believe that it was just Trump's legal team at the Willard; or that the team was only focused on lobbying Congress; or that the team had no contact with active insurrectionists at the Willard.

8/ We now know the seventh person in the Hyde photo gallery; PROOF will reveal her this week. The eighth person ("the man in the white shirt," who originated at Trump International Hotel that morning) is now being crowdsourced. And PROOF is about to report a *lot* on Roger Stone.

9/ Something I repeat here often: PROOF is doing work that's not being done elsewhere—and doing it extremely well. But I *want* the work to be done by major media outlets too, even if it takes some focus from PROOF. The issues are too important for major media not to act on them.

10/ PROOF has identified 23 people at Trump International Hotel, and 7 at the Willard Hotel, who were involving in strategizing on January 6. I believe there were at least three more at TIH, and Oltmann says there were 18 to 23 more at the Willard. That's over 50 people in total.

11/ And this does not include the "literally fifty" people Roger Stone's suite-mate at the Willard, "Manhattan Madam" Kristin M. Davis, said were "hanging out" with Stone and Sal Greco at the Willard.

We know that *at least* six of these were later arrested Oath Keepers leaders.

12/ None of this was at the Capitol. As I've written here before, PROOF is focusing on a story major media has missed entirely: events happening *off-site* on January 5 and January 6 that involved rich, powerful, and influential persons there is no sign the FBI is investigating.

13/ As a former investigator in the federal system, I understand that investigations don't happen publicly. But there have been no subpoenas or search warrant executions of *any* of those PROOF has written about, and no signs they've been interviewed or are handing over evidence.

14/ The people I'm writing about would say publicly if they had been interviewed or if they had handed over evidence even if it didn't leak (as it would) that that had happened. That means they're being left alone to destroy evidence, synchronize alibis, and manufacture stories.

15/ Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama didn't have to admit publicly that he lied about his whereabouts on January 5 because of the FBI. Sadly—and I mean this seriously; it's sad—it was because of reporting by PROOF and the work of citizen journalists. That's simply disgraceful.

16/ So as a lawyer and former investigator I do not want to hear that the FBI has a super-secret plan to hold accountable the rich, powerful, and influential GOP operatives and politicians behind the insurrection, and *isn't* screwing up. We know that it already *has* screwed up.

17/ There's an *extreme* time value to criminal investigation—as I know from years of experience. Earlier interviews are great, multiple interviews better. The investigator must locate key locations, events, and gatherings ASAP so interviews happen fast.

The FBI has fallen flat.

18/ At this point, there's one saving grace: this is the absolute stupidest group of individuals I've ever encountered in and around a criminal fact-pattern. The volume of evidence they are putting out there *themselves* is astounding. And PROOF is the largest archive of it, now.

19/ Some readers with less/no investigative experience think every piece of breaking news must be an indictment. That's not how it works. Federal cases take years to unfold. PROOF reports news when a *major* new investigative find arises. It *doesn't* mean an imminent indictment.

20/ In any case, I have to get back to the next breaking-news story, which should drop at PROOF tomorrow. This is my professional work product, and it has value, so it's "🆚." But the rate is set at the lowest Substack allows ($5). Much more at PROOF soon. sethabramson.substack.com