FBI often drops confidential human sources (CHS) once they become politically controversial. Identification of CHS’s is so closely controlled that it would not be hard for case agents, their supervisors, and the CHS management departments to conceal the records from scrutiny.
When the FBI authorizes a CHS to do something illegal (buy drugs, engage in kidnapping plot, incite someone, etc.), it must be approved at a high level in a field office. This is known as an "Otherwise Illegal Activity," or OAI, which is a strictly managed and recorded process.
The FBI gives OAI approval for a specific CHS to commit specific (authorized) crimes as part of a specific investigation.

There is an established, legal procedure for this as "bait" to entrap or otherwise compromise the target of a criminal or national security investigation.
When a former FBI man-turned-lawyer says his client "is" not an FBI "informant," he might technically be telling the truth. Apart from "is" versus "was," an "informant" is only one type of CHS. The client could have been a different type of CHS, such as a "cooperating witness."
CHS: Tricky thing about a "cooperating witness" is that his identity can be exposed during a prosecution, whereas a "confidential informant" is usually, but not always, protected.

Some bad actors might not be prosecuted so as to protect someone else who is a cooperating witness.
Congressional oversight of the FBI historically has been poor, bringing us what we have today.

FBI testified in public about Confidential Human Sources (CHS) in 2007 about improving a deteriorated program. It describes CHS and how it should work. archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/…
Here are the Attorney General's Guidelines for the FBI's use of Confidential Human Sources (CHS). justice.gov/sites/default/…
A Department of Justice Inspector General report in 2019 found that the FBI was not abiding by the Attorney General CHS Guidelines. oig.justice.gov/reports/2019/a…
The DOJ Inspector General found in November 2019 that the FBI's vetting process for CHS's "did not comply" with the guidelines; that FBI long-term validation reports were full of "deficiencies," the FBI was "inadequately staffed and trained" for the job, and a whole lot more.
Margot Cleveland @ProfMJCleveland of @FDRLST wrote an excellent story about this DOJ report back in 2019.

The FBI moves so slowly that I doubt it addressed the CHS problems by January 6, 2021. thefederalist.com/2019/11/25/blo…
@ProfMJCleveland @FDRLST What if, for the sake of argument, FBI had Confidential Human Sources (CHS) among the organizers and perpetrators of J6 violence against our Capitol?

What if FBI's CHS vetting & control practices continued to be poor as DOJ IG found in 2019, so the FBI let an op spin of control?
@ProfMJCleveland @FDRLST We don't know, because congressional Democrats and Republicans abdicated their responsibility for serious oversight of the FBI many years ago.

FBI has been able to operate free of any significant legislative oversight for decades. And so we have what we have.
(Correction: In an above tweet, I incorrectly referred to the FBI's category of authorized "Otherwise Illegal Activities" as "OAI" instead of "OIA.")

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More from @JMichaelWaller

11 Jan
Transcript of FBI's refusal to deny to Senator Cruz that FBI assets were involved in planning, incitement, or execution of J6 violence at Capitol.

It's not an admission, but the refusal to deny is damning. centerforsecuritypolicy.org/fbi-does-not-d…
There are legitimate national security/law enforcement reasons for the FBI publicly to decline to give specifics like numbers and types of FBI agents and assets, times and locations, etc.

It is NOT legitimate for FBI not answer "yes" or "no" to questions like @SenTedCruz asked.
@SenTedCruz Coming after the Justice Department's 4-1/2 month lag in responding to senators' requests for specific information, then not answering the questions in the letter that was finally sent, the FBI's non-response to Senator Cruz shows big problems remain at Headquarters.
Read 4 tweets
11 Jan
1) FBI would not deny what it should be able to deny.

@SenTedCruz: "How many FBI agents or confidential informants actively participated in the events of January 6?"

FBI: "Sir, I’m sure you can appreciate that I can’t go into the specifics of sources and methods…"
@SenTedCruz 2) The first FBI response is understandable. Then:

Cruz: "Did any FBI agents or confidential informants actively participate in the events of January 6, yes or no?"

FBI Exec Asst Dir Sanborn: "Sir, I can’t answer that."

More follows.
@SenTedCruz 3) Cruz: "Did any FBI agents or confidential informants commit crimes of violence on January 6?"

FBI: "I can’t answer that."

Cruz: "Did any FBI agents or FBI informants actively encourage and incite crimes of violence on January 6?"

FBI: "Sir, I cant answer that."
Read 5 tweets
11 Jan
Building their narrative: Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearing today on “domestic terrorism threat” one year after J6. judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/the-d…
Senator Dick Durbin kicks off the hearing by repeatedly calling J6 an "insurrection" and cited the made-for-TV props of a "Confederate battle flag" and a "noose."

He criticized Republican lawmakers for viewing their opposites as "hostile adversaries."
3) Driving the narrative: Durbin raises "school board meetings" as example of terrorist violence against public officials.

Durbin breaks with his Democratic colleagues to call out "left-wing extremism" in places like Portland.
Read 51 tweets
9 Jan
Two years ago: CCP TV calls it "Wuhan virus" and CNN calls it "Wuhan pneumonia."

That's before CCP said it was all racist and almost everyone stopped saying it. centerforsecuritypolicy.org/wuhan-virus/
Direct link: Thai report from CCP TV, January 9, 2020. thethaiger.com/hot-news/touri…
Here's the direct link the CNN story. CNN later altered its headline to remove "Wuhan pneumonia," but it's still in the code as "wuhan-pneumonia-virus." cnn.com/2020/01/08/hea…
Read 5 tweets
9 Jan
Doing Kremlin's bidding again: Germany readies to send Georgian/Ukrainian resistance hero to near-certain death. express.co.uk/news/world/154…
"Brig-Gen Giorgi Kalandadze was declared a national hero in his native Georgia after leading the defence against a Russia invasion in 2008, and then went on to lead Ukrainian troops fighting Russian forces in the separatist Donbas region." Germany arrested him for Putin.
Kalandadze is among the best there is. He went to US Army Ranger school. Led the resistance to Russia's invasion of Georgia in 2008 and has been helping Ukraine's defense since then. Americans ought to be standing up for him. @RangerAssoc
Read 7 tweets
8 Jan
Were the @CapitolPolice set up by other agencies to fail on J6?
I keep thinking about the Capitol Police chief at the time, Steve Sund, who testified that FBI, DHS and others provided advance intel that Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, etc., would be there, but that no trouble was expected.
How could FBI/DHS intelligence to the Capitol Police have stressed that there would be no trouble?
Why won’t FBI deny to Congress that it had assets among the violence planners?
Read 5 tweets

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