The Blaze’s Pipe-Bomb Bombshell Appears to Bomb; The right-wing outlet claimed to solve the Jan. 6th pipe-bomb mystery

The Blaze’s Pipe-Bomb Bombshell Appears to Bomb​

The right-wing outlet claimed to solve the Jan. 6th pipe-bomb mystery​

EARLY SATURDAY MORNING, the Blaze published the most hyped investigation from a right-wing media outlet in recent memory—an exposé on what it claimed was the likely identity of the January 6th pipe bomber.

In the Blaze’s telling, a female former Capitol Police officer who joined the CIA shortly after January 6th was “a forensic match” for the individual caught on camera footage the night before. The article, which included the woman’s name and several pictures of her, purported to be buttressed by “gait analysis” comparing the ex-officer to videos of the bomber.

The article’s claims ... were quickly picked up by leading Republicans, including Trump appointee Kari Lake and several Republican members of Congress. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), the chair of the House’s new January 6th subcommittee ... Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Rep. Anna Paulina Luna declared on X that “a capitol police officer placed a pipe bomb at the RNC on J6,” adding that the Blaze story was proof that Republicans would “all be in the gulag” if not for Trump.

Two days later, it seems like that excitement may have been more than a little overcooked. Rather than matching the Blaze’s reporting, rival January 6th reporters on the right are casting doubt on its conclusion.

In a sign of how things are going, Luna has quietly deleted her post about the woman’s identity.

When Trump took office again, MAGA expected answers. But, frustratingly for the right, the installation of Trump diehards like Kash Patel and Dan Bongino as the leaders of the FBI hasn’t turned up any more information.

After landmark lawsuits resulted in rulings against InfoWars and Fox News over conspiracy theories, putting them on the hook for massive amounts in damages, right-wing pundits have tended to go after more vaporous groups like the “cabal” or even just an unnamed “they,” the better to avoid the prospect of a similarly damaging libel suit. The fact that Baker had named and published photos of a specific person gave the impression that he might actually have the goods.

Now it gives the impression of an imminent damaging libel suit.

How an innocent woman's name was tied to the Jan. 6 pipe bombs​

Multiple sources said that a unit overseen by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard drafted a memo identifying the woman and describing allegations that she had placed the explosive devices outside Democratic and Republican party offices. The memo was written after ODNI was made aware of allegations from an outside source, an ODNI spokesperson said.

ODNI officials said the agency received a tip from a person affiliated with a media organization [could it be... the Blaze?] about potential criminal wrongdoing by an individual believed to be working at an intelligence agency and set about documenting it in a memo.

[The unfinished memo was sent to her place of employment and circulated within the Trump Administration. She was briefly placed on leave.]

ODNI oversees the nation's foreign intelligence gathering and has limited domestic investigative authorities.

A short time after the unfinished memo began to circulate, the conservative news outlet, Blaze News, published details similar to those in the draft, including the woman's full name.

Gabbard, the top ODNI official, has since distanced herself from the memo, telling senior officials that the information about the woman spread without her knowledge while Gabbard was traveling abroad, several sources said.