FBI Director Kash Patel said that soon-to-be-revealed information about bureau sources at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will “surprise” and “shock” people.
Mr. Patel said the FBI is investigating a set of cases that includes aspects of the Capitol breach by President Trump’s supporters.
“People have had questions about Jan. 6 and whether or not there were FBI sources, not agent sources, on the ground during Jan. 6,” Mr. Patel said on Fox News.
“I told you I would get you the definitive answer to that, and we have, and we are in the process of working with our partners to divulge that information,” he said. “I will tell you this: The answer to that question will surprise and shock people, because of what past FBI leaders have said about it.”
Mr. Patel’s immediate predecessor, Christopher Wray, previously told Congress that FBI confidential human sources were around the Capitol during the riot, but he refused to elaborate to lawmakers about who they were and why they were there.
Mr. Patel said that Mr. Wray’s admission was a “piece of the truth.”
“Why it took a ton of time for questioning in Congress for the director to get to that point is what I’m trying to eliminate from the FBI,” Mr. Patel said. “If Congress asks you a question under oath, whether or not there were sources in and around Jan. 6 at the Capitol, you, as the director of the FBI, need to know that and not deflect and give a D.C. answer.”
The Washington Times first reported in July 2023 that an FBI whistleblower told the House Judiciary Committee that at least 25 FBI confidential human sources or informants were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
However, according to the whistleblower’s disclosure to Congress, their presence there was considered to be “problematic” by agency leadership, and bureau personnel were ordered not to acknowledge that the informants were there.
The Department of Justice Inspector General confirmed the report in December 2024.
According to the IG, the FBI had more than two dozen informants in Washington surrounding the chaos of the Jan. 6, 2021, and four of them entered the building with the protesters.
Thirteen other informants were part of the mob that broke onto the Capitol grounds and breached restricted space, but they didn’t enter the building, investigators said.
None of the FBI’s confidential human sources, or CHSs, were prosecuted for their involvement in the riot.
The IG’s investigation found no evidence that undercover FBI employees were part of the protests.
“None of these FBI CHSs were authorized to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, or to otherwise break the law on Jan. 6, nor was any CHS directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on Jan. 6,” the investigation concluded.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.