Thread by @RepDanBishop

Weeks before the 2020 election, the FBI announced it had foiled an alleged plot to kidnap the Michigan governor.

But now, in 2022, the story is VERY different. What happened, who authorized this operation, and is this typical of the DOJ's domestic terrorism unit?

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This past April, 2 of the men charged were acquitted on grounds of entrapment. The jury was hung on 2 others, and their retrial begins next month.

How did we get here? This was one of the biggest domestic terror ops in decades.

At the start of the trial, Buzzfeed News reported that the government was using “bare-knuckle tactics” & “leaving nothing to chance” in its case.
buzzfeednews.com/article/kenben…

The case relied on work by at least 12 informants and 2 undercover agents, which raised the question: Would this group have planned anything without the prodding and encouragement of the FBI?

A Michigan jury didn’t think so.

Every step of the way, the Whitmer plot was directed and encouraged by government agents. It required approval at the highest levels of the DOJ.

What we still don't know - Who approved this op? Who oversaw it?

FBI informants had leading roles in the group and the alleged plot. "[O]bservers from across the political spectrum have argued the FBI’s efforts... went beyond legitimate law enforcement and into outright entrapment."
buzzfeednews.com/article/kenben…

The NYT acknowledged that the role of the FBI “muddled” the case, & reported that a bumbling nighttime surveillance trip, a large focus of the trial, had 4/12 men involved working for the FBI. nytimes.com/2022/01/24/us/…

An incomplete list of what the FBI used for this op:
-$54k payday for informant
-$20k payday for 2nd informant
-New electronics & tires for informant
-Travel, food, alcohol expenses
-12+ informants, 2 undercover agents
-A how-to bombmaking video
-Gov't drones & planes

In June 2020, the group stitched together by lead informant “Big Dan” was listless. They had no direction & seemed to be falling apart.

The FBI pushed him to keep them together. After rallying the group, handler Jayson Chambers texted him: “Look at you, bringing people together”

That summer, Agent Chambers coached the same informant in a parallel scheme against VA Gov. Ralph Northam.

When Dan asked Chambers for advice on how to frame the plot when communicating with a recruit, he replied: “Mission is to kill the Governor specifically”

The Northam plot has received even less attention than the Michigan fiasco. Just how far did the DOJ go here? We deserve answers. amgreatness.com/2022/04/14/the…

Today I asked Matthew Olsen, Asst AG for the DOJ's National Security Division– is this case representative of the DOJ's domestic terrorism efforts?

He refused to answer.

Why did the DOJ announce the case so close to the 2020 election?

How much did it cost?

Who authorized and oversaw this op?

The American people deserve answers.

Watch my full questioning here: c-span.org/video/?c502569…