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demmiblue

(36,823 posts)
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 12:49 PM Sep 2020

FBI raids home of conservative conspiracy theorist Jack Burkman (UPDATE... fake)

Last edited Tue Sep 15, 2020, 08:30 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: WaPo

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the home of lobbyist, conspiracy theorist and right-wing operative Jack Burkman early Monday morning.

Burkman confirmed the raid and said he was not arrested. His associate Jacob Wohl said the agents took computers, papers and cellphones from the home but that it was unclear what the federal investigators were seeking.

"It's quite strange," Wohl said. He said neither he nor Burkman, to his knowledge, have been questioned by the FBI.

A spokeswoman for the Washington Field Office of the FBI said, "We cannot confirm that at this time."

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/fbi-raids-home-of-conservative-conspiracy-theorist-jack-burkman/2020/09/14/cced27cc-f6a0-11ea-be57-d00bb9bc632d_story.html





UPDATE:

[div class"excerpt"]Jacob Wohl Staged Fake FBI Raid on Business Partner, Actor Hired for Production Says

A supposed FBI raid of a home of an infamous Republican dirty trickster appears to have been a ruse--one that began falling apart even as its perpetrators managed to dupe a major national newspaper.

On Monday, a Virginia man who responded to a Craisglist ad seeking actors to play FBI agents for a television pilot came forward to say that he'd been roped into the latest hoax orchestrated by bumbling right-wing smear merchants Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl.

Tommy Abraham told The Daily Beast in an interview on Monday that the Craigslist ad offered $400 cash payments to white male actors who agreed to don FBI badges and windbreakers and film a series of scenes at Burkman's home in Arlington, Virginia. In the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning, Abraham said that he and a handful of others who responded to the ad converged on Burkman's home and were filmed acting out an FBI raid there. Abraham supplied documentary evidence to back up his assertions, including emails from an address bearing the name of a company Wohl once ran.

By Monday afternoon, news of the fake raid had already been reported as genuine by The Washington Post, and Burkman was insinuating that high-level government officials were retaliating against him for his efforts to root out corruption in Washington. A person going by he name Bev Donahue sent a series of photos and video clips of the "raid" to reporters, and shared them on an eponymous twitter account created in August. But there's evidence that "Donahue" is just a pseudonym for Wohl. That Twitter account is associated with an email address beginning with "ja" and a cell phone number that, like Wohl's, ends with the digits 91.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jacob-wohl-staged-fake-fbi-raid-on-business-partner-actor-hired-for-production-says
25 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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FBI raids home of conservative conspiracy theorist Jack Burkman (UPDATE... fake) (Original Post) demmiblue Sep 2020 OP
maybe the wall-building bs stillcool Sep 2020 #1
Here's wishing nuttin' but trouble for both of 'em Cirque du So-What Sep 2020 #2
I'm with you pandr32 Sep 2020 #3
YEAH BABY!!! Leghorn21 Sep 2020 #4
This message was self-deleted by its author demmiblue Sep 2020 #5
why does he think it's strange? getagrip_already Sep 2020 #6
Was he zipped up? Brother Buzz Sep 2020 #7
So glad you shared the image. Poor, stupid Jack. What a jerk. 👍 Judi Lynn Sep 2020 #16
This message was self-deleted by its author DeeNice Sep 2020 #8
This message was self-deleted by its author DeeNice Sep 2020 #12
Didn't it all start to go downhill for Jared Fogle after an FBI pre-dawn electronics raid? ck4829 Sep 2020 #9
Daily Beast says Wohl and Burkman did it themselves More_Cowbell Sep 2020 #10
I just saw that. demmiblue Sep 2020 #11
Hmmm wonder if they can get in trouble neohippie Sep 2020 #19
This is not a laughing matter - impersonating FBI agents and then reporting a "raid" to the press... George II Sep 2020 #21
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! fleur-de-lisa Sep 2020 #13
They might be pretty soon. Staging a fake FBI raid and then presenting it to a newspaper.... George II Sep 2020 #22
Perfect gif! Great choice. ⭐️ Judi Lynn Sep 2020 #14
But they managed to dupe a major national newspaper. So they won (in their tiny brains). catrose Sep 2020 #15
I think I saw these guys on an HBO doc I saw yesterday Zing Zing Zingbah Sep 2020 #17
These guys sound like Roger Stone's idiot cousins FakeNoose Sep 2020 #18
these two idiots will eventually be questioned, but i believe... Javaman Sep 2020 #20
So that weasel staged the whole thing for photos and headlines? Warpy Sep 2020 #23
The FBI Says It Didn't Raid Jack Burkman's House mahatmakanejeeves Sep 2020 #24
Pfffffttt... Blue Owl Sep 2020 #25

Leghorn21

(13,523 posts)
4. YEAH BABY!!!
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 01:00 PM
Sep 2020

I saw pictures of the bust earlier, but they were from a tweeter with a total of 7 tweets on its account, so I said, hmmm, this could be bogus, stay cool...

but IT’S TRUE!! I am DELIGHTED, I tells ya!!! DELIGHTED!!

Response to demmiblue (Original post)

getagrip_already

(14,633 posts)
6. why does he think it's strange?
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 01:40 PM
Sep 2020

The fbi doesn't normally ask a target questions until they are ready to charge them. They start at the bottom and work their way to the top.

Well, that was before barr corrupted the place that is.

Response to demmiblue (Original post)

Response to DeeNice (Reply #8)

neohippie

(1,142 posts)
19. Hmmm wonder if they can get in trouble
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 03:11 PM
Sep 2020

So is it okay to impersonate federal officials, would you need a permit?


George II

(67,782 posts)
21. This is not a laughing matter - impersonating FBI agents and then reporting a "raid" to the press...
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 03:19 PM
Sep 2020

....as though it was real could violate federal law.

fleur-de-lisa

(14,624 posts)
13. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 02:21 PM
Sep 2020

Seriously, why aren't those two con artists in jail already?

George II

(67,782 posts)
22. They might be pretty soon. Staging a fake FBI raid and then presenting it to a newspaper....
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 03:21 PM
Sep 2020

....as though it was real could be a serious matter. If not a crime, it might give the Washington Post grounds for a hefty lawsuit.

FakeNoose

(32,589 posts)
18. These guys sound like Roger Stone's idiot cousins
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 03:07 PM
Sep 2020

They probably belong in jail right along with him too.



Javaman

(62,504 posts)
20. these two idiots will eventually be questioned, but i believe...
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 03:12 PM
Sep 2020

they are just minor players in something larger.

when the do get questioned, they will be squeezed and will cough up what they know about who pulls their strings

Warpy

(111,157 posts)
23. So that weasel staged the whole thing for photos and headlines?
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 04:24 PM
Sep 2020

I do hope this gets a lot of press and not for the reasons he wants it to.

There is plenty of FAKE NEWS out there, but it's not where Il Douche says it is.

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,305 posts)
24. The FBI Says It Didn't Raid Jack Burkman's House
Mon Sep 14, 2020, 07:10 PM
Sep 2020

Last edited Mon Sep 14, 2020, 07:50 PM - Edit history (2)

The FBI Says It Didn’t Raid Jack Burkman’s House

The Washington Post reported the hoax as fact.

WRITTEN BY ANDREW BEAUJON | PUBLISHED ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

The FBI’s Washington field office says it did not raid the home of Arlington conspiracy theorist Jack Burkman, despite a Washington Post story that apparently took Burkman’s word that his home had been tossed by federal agents.

“The FBI Washington Field Office was not present at the specified location for law enforcement activity,” a spokesman tells Washingtonian. Earlier Monday, the FBI said it “cannot confirm or provide additional information.”

A Washington Post spokesperson tells Washingtonian:

“The Post earlier today published an erroneous story about a purported FBI raid on the home of conservative operative Jack Burkman. The FBI has since said that the raid did not take place. Our story was published because we failed to obtain appropriate confirmation.”

{snip}

Andrew Beaujon
SENIOR EDITOR
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. His book A Bigger Field Awaits Us: The Scottish Soccer Team That Fought the Great War was published in 2018. He lives in Del Ray.
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