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Rep. Jim Jordan wants the FBI to provide him and other lawmakers with a briefing after a special agent has come forward with a revelation regarding the bureau’s probe into two pipe bombs that were planted outside the Republican and Democratic Party headquarters in Washington, D.C., the evening before the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building.
According to the Washington Examiner, Jordan (R-Ohio), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray earlier this week in which he said the “whistleblower disclosure” noted that the FBI’s Washington Field Office asked other field offices around the country last month to canvass every confidential human source for any relevant information regarding the incident.
The message to field officers, in part, asked that the canvass “include sources reporting on all [types of] threats” because the suspect’s “motive and ideology remain unknown,” according to Jordan.
The outlet notes further:
The special agent, who was not identified, claimed that the request was “unusual” because it came a year after the investigation began, and Jordan said it raises questions about the progress and extent of the inquiry. Both bomb threats were neutralized by authorities, but the identity of the suspect remains one of the biggest mysteries stemming from the events surrounding the Capitol riot.
One pipe bomb was placed in an alley behind the Republican National Committee headquarters, while the other was placed next to a park bench near the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
#BREAKING: FBI Whistleblower Raises Questions about January 6 Pipe Bomb Investigation pic.twitter.com/L2fzDMxQpB
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) March 9, 2022
Jordan also said the bureau has failed to “sufficiently answer questions” posed by GOP colleague Rep. Bill Posey of Florida dating back to September regarding the status of the investigation.
The FBI explained it was “exclusively providing information to the partisan Democrat-led Select Committee investigating the events of January 6, 2021,” Jordan noted in his letter, requesting that the FBI brief lawmakers no later than March 23.
“The FBI asked the public for assistance in the investigation and released videos showing the suspect wearing a gray hoodie, a face mask, gloves, and black and light gray Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes with a yellow logo, carrying a bag and strolling through the Capitol Hill neighborhood on the evening of Jan. 5,” the Washington Examiner reported.
“A day later, when rioters stormed the Capitol, the process of certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory was disrupted, although there is no publicly confirmed link between those events and the pipe bombs,” the outlet noted further.
After the discovery of the bombs, the FBI put up a $50,000 reward for any information that led to the identification or arrest of the suspect in early January. Over the course of the following year, the reward was increased to $75,000, then $100,000, where it now stands.
“The bureau renewed its public push for answers on the pipe bomber around the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riot. An FBI webpage features a host of details about the suspect, including multiple videos of the would-be bomber and a map of the route they took the night of Jan. 5,” the Examiner’s report continued.
The FBI has also noted that the pipe bombs were real and “could have been detonated.”
Both devices were viable and could have been detonated, resulting in serious injury or death. The #FBI and @ATFHQ are offering a reward of up to $100,000 for info. leading to the location, arrest, and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the placement of the bombs. 2/3
— FBI Washington Field (@FBIWFO) January 6, 2022
#FBIWFO asks the public to go to our website to view the photos, map, and videos and see if you recognize anything about this person: https://t.co/946jU0n3qJ. If you have any information – please call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit https://t.co/t8G7LO4hxu. 3/3 pic.twitter.com/Fivx3lxDXj
— FBI Washington Field (@FBIWFO) January 6, 2022
