Catherine Herridge

NEW: Alaska 'Decoy Dan' Probes Expand @MaryPeltola Congressional Preservation Orders via @SenRonJohnson Chairman Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations "All communications to or from any of the following individuals referring to any effort to recruit individuals to run for the U.S. Senate election in Alaska, including but not limited to all communications referring or relating to the ballot composition project: a. Anton McParland; b. Andrew Piatt; c. Jacquelyn Lopez; d. Elisa Rios; e. Shelbi Dantic. Senator Johnson; "The @nytimes report on the conspiracy to create confusion in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race @DanSullivan_AK details outrageous and possibly criminal behavior on the part of Democrat operatives. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has sent a number of records preservation letters to help ensure evidence of wrongdoing is not destroyed,” Link to preservation letters after the jump👇

With @nytimes investigation into 'decoy Dan,' it's worth re-visiting @MaryPeltola’s @X account where she promises to "....unrig the system"

SHADOW GOVERNMENT COURT RECORDS: ALLEGED OBSTRUCTION According to an interview with a congressional staffer, BENAVIDES and FLORIS alleged lack of candor impacted the Capitol Hill probe including the discovery process. KEY SECTION PAGE 25 "...their respective false answers influenced the Committee’s investigation significantly, including by thwarting investigative follow-up interviews and subpoenas.'

ANALYSIS SHADOW GOVERNMENT RECORDS: THE WIKIPEDIA CONNECTION In his congressional testimony, former senior FBI official BENAVIDES seemed to disclaim any contemporaneous knowledge of the Hunter Biden laptop probe in 2020. He tells congressional investigators his understanding of the Hunter Biden narrative came, in part, from Wikipedia. NOTE: FBI Insta-messages and emails indicate Benavides' involvement in Hunter Biden talking points and briefs on the laptop. Q. And, to your understanding, what was that Hunter Biden laptop narrative? BENAVIDES A. My understanding, and I’ll be honest, some of this came from 2 days ago. I was on Wikipedia, anticipating what might be asked. There was a purported laptop dropped off at a repair shop attributed to Hunter Biden. Q. And, to your knowledge, is the FBI in possession of that laptop? A. Only because of the Wikipedia article, my understanding is, according to that article, the FBI is in possession of the laptop. Lawyers for Benavides and Floris call their clients 'patriots' and characterize the charges as a 'disgrace."

ANALYSIS SHADOW GOVERNMENT RECORDS: The FBI internal insta-messages capture real time communications from Floris and Benavides about the Hunter Biden case. Whatever unfolds in court, these records are like raw intelligence, underpin the DOJ allegations that Floris and Benavides lied to Congress and reveal potential evidence of obstruction. OCTOBER 2020: "The same day, BENAVIDES asked the Hunter Biden case team for specifics on the laptop that he already knew existed. BENAVIDES messaged FBI Employee 2: FBI took possession of laptop 12/9/2019, nearly a year BEFORE the 2020 election. Their lawyers say the former senior FBI officials are 'patriots' and the charges are a 'disgrace.'

.@COMEY FACES NEW CRIMINAL CHARGES - Accused of unlawfully transmitting 'national defense information' and 'conspiring' to share it with a reporter while @FBI Director - Two-count criminal information filed OCT 5 - 18 USC 793 (d) "...willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted...to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same" (g) '...If two or more persons conspire to violate any of the foregoing provisions of this section..." KEY LANGUAGE: "..the defendant (Comey) through one or more co-conspirators directed INDIVIDUAL 1 to disclose national defense information to a reporter for a national news publication.” CONTEXT: While the new court records do NOT identify individual 1, in August there was a subpoena for Columbia Law Professor Daniel Richman as part of investigation into @Comey's alleged leaking to the media. It is not clear whether the Richman subpoena, first reported @FoxNews, was related to these new allegations. NOTE: According to law enforcement records previously declassified @FBIDirectorKash Comey had Richman hired at the FBI in 2015 as a “Special Government Employee” and “liaison to the media" with a high level security clearance. Richman acted as a de facto PR media rep for Comey. His responsibilities included protecting the FBI and Comey’s public image. Reaching out to Richman for comment and will update If I hear back from him.

.@X Article for @C__Herridge subscribers: The 'Shadow Government' Prosecutions, FBI Insta-Messages Are Forever... And The Culture of Narrative Manipulation. New reporting and analysis all in one place. Thank you for making independent journalism possible!

FLORIS 2023 transcribed interview to Congress: Q. Did you have any involvement in the Hunter Biden investigation? FLORIS A. I did not. Q. Was there ever a discussion at the FITF (FBI Foreign Influence Task Force) about Hunter Biden? A. No. At least not with me. And again, there’s a whole team below me, so whether or not conversations happened, I don’t know, but I personally did not have any conversations. FLORIS STATEMENT via legal team: “Nikki Floris is a patriot. She served our nation as a dedicated FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years. Yet today, the DOJ has accused her falsely of a crime on the say-so of politicians, not on the facts. It’s no coincidence the government is filing these nonsense charges now, years later, on the eve of an election. “The government’s reasons for charging Nikki are as transparent as they are unjust: to push a false narrative for a shot at political points. It’s another sad day for the DOJ, but we look forward to Nikki’s day in court.”

INSTA-MESSAGES ARE FOREVER: SHADOW GOVERNMENT PROSECUTION Much of the case surrounding ex-FBI senior officials Floris and Benavides for allegedly lying to Congress about their knowledge of and involvement in the Hunter Biden probe is document driven. Take this October 2020 email about talking points for then FBI Director Wray about the Hunter Biden laptop. The draft talking points begin: “The most I (Wray) can say is that the FBI is in possession of an item that we lawfully seized.” BENAVIDES responded “This is good…you could add another if asked: Is the information we’re seeing in the press about a laptop containing emails associated with Hunter Biden part of a Russia disinformation effort? (Reference New York Post) I can see from the perspective of anyone consuming this story that they could be concerned this is a Russia disinformation effort similar to what the FBI, ODNI, and other agencies have warned against; however, the FBI has not made that determination in this specific instance and as I stated before, I won’t comment on investigations or investigative actions.” BENAVIDES then wrote “Nikki, thoughts???” FLORIS responded “Looks good!” These FBI talking points promoted a false narrative that the Hunter Biden laptop was a Russian plant before the 2020 election, a kind of October surprise.  Based on my investigative reporting, the FBI determined MONTHS before the 2020 election the laptop was authentic and the property of Hunter Biden.

FBI SHADOW GOVERNMENT CHARGES: @ChuckGrassley leads the way “Today, we’re seeing accountability efforts in action. I appreciate the Department of Justice and the FBI’s work to root out government corruption and embrace transparency. At long last, Americans can see all the facts and evidence for themselves.” “These two unelected bureaucrats (EX-FBI SENIOR OFFICIALS FLORIS AND BENAVIDES) used the power of government to smear my and @SenRonJohnson constitutional oversight and distract from inconvenient truths that weaponized bureaucrats and the Biden administration didn’t want you to know."