I once again applaud my friend @DarrenJBeattie for more outstanding work on exposing the hoax that is the J6 pipe bomber. No one has done more important work and today's report is a game changer.
Just to add to his bombshell today, I am reposting my reporting from Feb 2022 that raised questions about Karlin Younger, the woman who "found" the pipe bomb near the RNC that afternoon.
Long story short: she had ties to the FBI.
"In the 15-minute time span before the joint session of Congress convened at 1:00 p.m. on January 6, 2021, two incidents that set the stage for the day’s ensuing chaos happened simultaneously.
First, a man named Ryan Samsel, after taking some sort of direction from Ray Epps, overran a thin line of police and metal racks in what would be the first official breach of Capitol grounds around 12:50 p.m. (Samsel was charged and has been incarcerated for more than a year; Epps faces no charges.) Joining Samsel were members of the Proud Boys and a still-unknown number of FBI informants.
Around the same time, a woman named Karlin Younger who just happened to be walking to a laundry facility near the Republican National Committee headquarters just happened to look down and see what she believed was a pipe bomb nestled between a dumpster and a fence right next to the building.
Both events fueled panic in the nation’s capital just as a contentious meeting to certify the Electoral College vote in the 2020 presidential election got underway in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives. Then, the news got worse. Capitol police reportedly discovered another explosive outside the DNC headquarters.
The New York Times immediately broke the story: “The device that was found at the R.N.C. was a pipe bomb that was successfully destroyed by a bomb squad, according to an official for the R.N.C,” reporters Maggie Haberman, Michael Schmidt, and Katie Benner wrote. “The package at the D.N.C. has yet to be identified, according to a top Democrat briefed on the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.”
The Times story went viral. At 1:53 p.m., Representative Elaine Luria tweeted that she “just had to evacuate my office because of a bomb reported outside, while the President’s anarchists are trying to force their way into the Capitol.”
Capitol police the next day issued a statement. “The USCP Hazardous Materials Response Team determined that both devices were, in fact, hazardous and could cause great harm to public safety,” Steven Sund, the Capitol police chief wrote on January 7, the day he resigned from the force. “The devices were disabled and turned over to the FBI for further investigation and analysis.”
During a press conference a few days later, Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, told reporters that law enforcement agencies, including the ATF and FBI, were collaborating to find the suspects who set the pipe bombs.
The bombers would be “brought to justice,” promised Steven D’Antuono, the newly appointed head of the D.C. FBI field office, who warned that “every rock was being unturned” to apprehend the suspect or suspects. The FBI initially offered a $50,000 reward.
But as the FBI successfully rounded up hundreds of Capitol trespassers using sophisticated tools such as geofence warrants, the trail of the pipe bomber went cold. Grainy footage released by the FBI purportedly showed the pipe bomber in action the night of January 5—the time the agency determined the bombs had been planted—and in March, D’Antuono asked for the public’s assistance in tracking down the bomber.
Anyone who showed an interest in making explosives prior to January 5, 2021, or possessed galvanized pipe, wire, and “multiple kitchen timers” should be turned in to the FBI, D’Antuono said in a dramatic video message, even if the person was a relative or friend.
But more than a year later, not only has a suspect not been identified or caught, the pipe bomb story gets weirder and weirder.
Politico recently reported that Kamala Harris was inside the DNC headquarters at the same time the explosive sat outside the building. Harris, who inexplicably left the Capitol around 11:30 a.m. on January 6 after attending an intelligence briefing, choosing not to participate as a U.S. senator in the certification of her own historical election, was evacuated out of the DNC headquarters by the Secret Service at 1:14 p.m., several minutes after Capitol police inspected the building after the RNC bomb was found.
That shocking revelation means one of two things: The Secret Service, in a security sweep of the DNC building and exterior grounds prior to her arrival, missed what the FBI insists was a viable explosive device—a scenario that seems deeply unlikely considering the city was in a state of heightened alert and agents presumably would be extra cautious.
Or, the FBI is lying.
Given what we know about the FBI’s politically motivated malfeasance during the Trump era, the likelihood the pipe bomb story was another FBI hoax instead of a legitimate threat becomes more conceivable each day.
Which leads us to the woman who “found” the pipe bombs outside the RNC right just before the joint session gaveled in on January 6. Karlin Younger is described in news reports as a “resident” of D.C. or an employee of the Department of Commerce.
But Younger’s résumé is a bit more detailed.
On January 6, when she took a midday walk to the laundromat and found the first pipe bomb, Younger was a project manager for FirstNet Authority, a public-private partnership between AT&T and first responders to prioritize emergency communications during an attack or disaster. Standing board members for FirstNet include the attorney general and secretary of Homeland Security. Several federal agencies, including the Justice Department, use FirstNet services.
And a few weeks before January 6, FirstNet received its largest-ever commitment from a law enforcement agency, a $92 million contract for FirstNet’s services.
That agency was the FBI.
Now, perhaps one could write off as coincidence Younger’s ties to a government-connected agency that just received a massive investment from the FBI. But in a media interview, Younger almost tipped her hand. “You’re on that edge of, ‘I don’t want to bother anybody . . . I want to make sure this is real, right?’” Younger told a Wisconsin television station on January 18, 2021. “You don’t want to go down as the person who evacuates a city block for a hoax but at the same time there was just enough of that gut instinct that said ‘this isn’t a place you would put a hoax.’”
But of course, it was exactly where someone would perpetrate a hoax. (Younger has since left FirstNet and cofounded a security technology start-up firm.) Her work with a firm funded by the FBI deserves at least a few raised eyebrows.
No one still trying to convince the public that two pipe bombs were planted near the Capitol in advance of January 6 can be believed. In fact, quite to the contrary, the public should automatically distrust anything out of the FBI.
So, either the Secret Service missed the device in clear view outside the DNC headquarters that day before the arrival of Kamala Harris or there never was an explosive at either location and the FBI is not telling the truth. Again.
The safe bet, using recent history as a guide, is on the latter.
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In one of the most twisted opinions I've read, Judge Royce Lamberth (Reagan)--who eagerly threw J6ers including Jake Chansley and Rachel Powell in prison for years--has halted the president's exec order denying treatment for federal inmates suffering from "gender dysphoria."
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are "transgenders" who use new names to represent their chosen gender--but also to conceal the convictions that led to their lengthy incarceration in federal prison.
Meet the criminals Judge Lamberth claims are being denied constitutional rights and harmed by the Trump administration.
"Alishea Kingdom" according to court docs "is a transgender woman who was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2016, prescribed hormone therapy injections, and approved to receive social accommodations including women’s undergarments and cosmetics." After the president's order, "she" was denied those treatments and accommodations.
"Ms. Kingdom states that the discontinuation of her hormone therapy caused her to experience anxiety, hopelessness, panic attacks, and suicidal ideation," Lamberth wrote.
Except Kingdom's real name is Joshua Mueller.
In 2014, at the age of 23, Mueller was sentenced to 15 1/2 years in prison for armed robbery in Milwaukee where he shot a store employee. He is currently incarcerated at Fairton FCI.
Lamberth lamented how "Jas" was denied hormone treatments earlier this year after deciding in 2023 she was really a man. "Mr. Kapule was told that he would no longer have access to chest binders, and the next day was made to turn in his boxers in exchange for feminine undergarments. Mr. Kapule fears that the discontinuation of his therapy would result in the return of his menstrual cycle and will lead to depression," Lamberth wrote.
Her real name is Jasmine Kapule and she is a career criminal from California.
In 2021, she pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon and distributing fentanyl. (BTW none of this is mentioned in Lamberth's orders in the case, I looked up all doc on PACER.)
She was sentenced to 110 months in prison.
Then we have "Solo Nichols." According to Judge Lamberth, "Mr. Nichols is a transgender man who was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2021, prescribed hormone therapy in the form of 100mg testosterone injections, and given access to men’s undergarments, men’s hygiene products, and chest binders."
Lamberth: "Mr Nichols states that he is very scared to live without testosterone therapy, fearing he will lose muscle mass and start menstruating again and likewise maintains that the thought of wearing feminine undergarments makes him feel "deeply uncomfortable, like I can't breathe."
Except "Solo Nichols" is really LaTasha Nichols, another career criminal from Michigan.
In 2013, LaTasha was sentenced to 19 years in prison committing a string of armed robberies in Michigan.
At my daughter's law school baccalaureate mass last night, the priest urged the students to practice law with "honor, honesty, integrity, and virtue." His words made me think about the current crisis in our judiciary as judges now make snap political decisions devoid of those important traits.
Then late last night, I learned about SCOTUS decision in Alien Enemies Act case.
Aside from interfering in what has always been sole executive authority turf--determining the use of the AEA--what 7 justices did is reward the ACLU's bad behavior and borderline misconduct.
SCOTUS endorsed the ACLU's strategy of filing emergency lawsuits over weekends and holidays (in this case, Easter weekend); using anonymous plaintiffs who are illegal Venezuelans then referencing those unnamed plaintiffs to demand classwide status for other potential AEA subjects based on little or no evidence as to who would be covered; relying on declarations by ACLU attorneys or other outside interests without any verification the statements are accurate; and demanding judges act on ACLU unreasonable timeline.
And rather than--as Kavanaugh suggested in a separate concurrence--immediately address the merits of these cases, i.e., the lawfulness of the president's AEA proclamation--the court shamefully gave the ACLU the green light to run roughshod over lower courts in terms of halting deportation of suspected TdA gang members who are here ILLEGALLY.
The criticism of Judge Hendrix, as Alito points out, also is completely out of line and inaccurate. SCOTUS misrepresented his handling of the case as a cop out to excuse themselves for the court's unprecedented and unnecessary interference in this crucial matter.
Truly shameful stuff.
Alito eviscerated the majority on a number of issues including unwarranted and inaccurate criticism of Judge Hendrix while noting the rush job of other judges
Alito noted the flimsy evidence entered by ACLU to support demands for classwide and emergency relief:
Hearing now for Judicial Watch lawsuit in killing of Ashli Babbitt.
There IS a settlement in the case.
Also her husband, Aaron, is a plaintiff.
They are suing the US government under federal torts claim act for assault, negligence, negligent supervision (of shooter Lt. Michael Byrd), negligent training, and wrongful death.
Plaintiffs on behalf of Ashli are seeking $30 million .
The settlement is not yet finalized so cannot be announced.
Holy shit -- the judge is Ana Reyes, the crazy Biden appointee. She is SCREAMING at both sides about who knew what about the proposed settlement.
This relates to a former attorney on the case.
DOJ: "Our intention is to settle this case." Terms have been sent to Babbitt's representatives.
She is again berating one of the plaintiff's attorneys.
This outrageous piece demonstrates what the Trump DOJ is up against not just in the media but within the ranks of the DOJ and federal judges.
First--shame on Barrett for whitewashing the evil Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) mob which is not a "student group" but a campus terror organization that has called for the destruction of both Israel and western civilization INCLUDING THE U.S.
CUAD has terrorized students and administrators at Columbia and Barnard College for over a year; at least one CUAD event featured a member of the PLO. (The event was banned on campus so the wannabe Hamasters conducted the panel virtually.)
But of course only at the NYT is the real villain the Trump DOJ--specifically Emil Bove, a top DOJ official who ordered an investigation into CUAD after masked student terrorists stormed a Barnard building in February and attacked a security guard.
Bove instructed prosecutors to compile a list of CUAD members--but he was once again met with defiance by DOJ lawyers. (This also happened when Bove sought to drop the indictment against NY Mayor Eric Adams.)
"The prosecutors were told by superiors that Mr. Bove was seeking a list so the information could be shared with immigration agents, these people said. Inside the civil rights division, prosecutors came to fear that their criminal investigation was a pretext to facilitate an intimidation and deportation campaign by the Trump administration against student protesters, these people said.
Prosecutors refused to compile such a list that could be given to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, these people said."
Now once upon a time, career government lawyers refusing to follow orders from a superior to investigate a known campus terror group seeking the destruction of the U.S. and involved in an anti-Semitic movement across the U.S. perhaps funded by our enemies would receive widespread condemnation in the press.
Bove sought a search warrant for CUAD's Instagram account including nonpublic data. Now this sort of thing was NEVER contentious when the DOJ sought (and received) Pres Trump's X data or when the FBI systematically sought social media data for thousands of Americans related to its Jan 6 investigation.
But seeking data on a radical campus terror group threatening the destruction of the US and Israel among other nations? THAT IS JUST A BRIDGE TOO FAR for career DOJ lawyers. (Instagram actually suspended CUAD's account in March for violating its policies.)
According to DAG Todd Blanche, "the warrant application focused on Columbia University Apartheid Divest included a photograph from C.U.A.D.’s social media of an inverted triangle symbol used by Hamas to designate targets for violence, which was spray-painted on Columbia property along with red paint designed to look like blood.”
Back to Barrett's piece: "While civil rights prosecutors conducted the investigation that Mr. Bove had demanded, they often pushed back against specific steps that he wanted taken, these people said, arguing that they were either not justified by the available facts or contrary to law and past practice, or both."
But civil rights division lawyers--who thankfully now are leaving en masse after the confirmation of Harmeet Dhillon--were not the only DOJ attorneys to defy Bove's request....
NEW: Records obtained by Sens Grassley and Johnson provide further proof DOJ/FBI was in cahoots with Biden WH on "Arctic Frost" investigation, the Jan 6 case against the president.
As I reported in the docs case, Biden WH general counsel Jonathan Su also was working with DOJ and NARA separably to concoct the documents case.
Biden WH turned over govt cell phones used by Pres Trump and VP Pence.
This is from dirty Wash FBI field office official Tim Thibault to others--including WFO chief Steven D'Antuono--about obtaining the devices.
Su arranged the pick up of the devices from Biden WH in May 2022. Again underscoring this is the same time Su was working with NARA to devise the classified documents case, meeting with NARA officials at WH.
Biden general counsel Su says he is the "point of contact" on the case. BTW Steven D'Antuono, former head of Wash FBI field office, retired after Republicans won in Nov 2022 and John Crabb was demoted by Trump DOJ in Feb 2025.
Last night, the DOJ filed its response to Jeb Boasberg's demand to prove the Trump adm did not defy his court orders related to the removal of Venezuelan illegals covered by the Alien Enemies Act (I also will get to a lot more of this in a separate thread and note his own discrepancies in the first temp restraining order next) on March 15.
As I have discussed here and in numerous interviews, the central dispute pertains to what Boasberg calls his "oral ruling" to turn around two planes already in the air carrying AEA illegals. The DOJ cites case law, jurisdiction, and Boasberg's own confusing orders as to why his verbal statement around 6:45pm on March 15--roughly 40 minutes before Boasberg's written minute order--is not controlling.
Note in particular the times the planes departed (this is from new DOJ filing)
While Boasberg now insists his two temporary restraining orders related to the president's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act--signed evening of March 14 and posted (and apparently enacted at the time) around 3pm on March 15--he CLEARLY stated TWICE n the rushed March 15 hearing that the first TRO covering the five unnamed illegal Venezuelans represented by the ACLU related to the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Not the Alien Enemies Act--the basis of the ACLU lawsuit and request for restraining order.
From March 15 transcript (Gelernt is ACLU atty):
EXCEPT that Boasberg's TROs earlier in the day (those statements above were made after 5pm) granted relief sought by ACLU under the Alien Enemies Act.
Not the INA.
Here is ACLU proposed order, which Boasberg granted at around 9:40am without any input or briefing by the DOJ: