Congressional Republicans Demand Answers From FBI on J6 Pipe Bombs

GOP members on the House Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to the FBI demanding answers on the slow progression of the January 6th pipe bomb investigation.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) said the “Committee requested the briefing after we received a whistleblower disclosure from a senior FBI official that raised questions and concerns about the “unusual” nature of the FBI’s investigative efforts and due to the FBI’s failure to adequately respond to Rep. Bill Posey’s September 2, 2021 request for a briefing on the investigation.”

“According to at least one report from a former FBI agent who worked on the investigation, the FBI linked the suspected pipe bomber to a MetroRail SmarTrip Card that the subject used to travel through the Washington Metro system to a stop in Northern Virginia. The FBI used security camera footage from the Northern Virginia Metro stop to identify the license plate of a car that the individual entered,” the letter added.

“One former FBI assistant director observed, ‘[i]t just doesn’t add up . . . [t]here’s just too much to work with to not know who this guy is,'” it continued.

“The slow progression of the FBI’s investigation into the January 6 pipe bombs raises significant concerns about the FBI’s prioritization of that case in relation to other January 6 investigations,” the letter added.

The Committee members requested a briefing on the status on the pipe bomb investigation by no later than June 7, 2023.

#NEWS: @Jim_Jordan, @RepAndyBiggsAZ, and @congbillposey Press FBI for Information on January 6 Pipe Bomb Investigation.

One former FBI assistant director observed, “[i]t just doesn’t add up . . . [t]here’s just too much to work with to not know who this guy is.” pic.twitter.com/ZVpwEkhS0r

— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) May 24, 2023

Read the full letter below:

American Greatness provided some of the remarks former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin gave to to The Washington Times about the investigation.

The suspect was caught on surveillance video. He wore a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, a pair of Air Max Speed Turf shoes with a yellow Nike logo, a backpack and gloves. He was recorded walking through Capitol Hill neighborhoods carrying what federal investigators said were two live pipe bombs.

However, Mr. Seraphin said technicians determined the pipe bombs were inoperable.

His story runs counter to the FBI’s official version that the devices could have detonated at any time. The bureau repeated that story in January while offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest.

Seraphin also told Times reporter Kerry Picket that a separate individual bought the Metrorail SmarTrip card one year before the pipe bomber suspect used it on Jan. 5, 2021.

“The card had never been used before. It was bought a year prior by a retired chief master sergeant in the Air Force, and he was a security contractor. So he held a security clearance,”  Seraphin said.

“Mr. Seraphin and his team surveilled the retired airman, who lived in a Northern Virginia townhouse, for a couple of days and learned about his background.

Although Mr. Seraphin, who also served in the Air Force, wanted to approach the Air Force veteran and talk to him, his bureau superiors forbade him to do so before his team was removed from the case.

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