Has Trump Pardoned (Alleged) January 6 Pipe Bomber Yet?

Arrest based on 'evidence that had already been gathered' by FBI. Good job, guys.

And so he says to me, ‘you wanna be a bad guy?’ and I say, ‘Yeah baby! I wanna be bad!’ I say ‘SURF’S UP, SPACE PONIES! I’m making gravy without the lumps! ‘ AHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA!

With today’s arrest of a suspect accused of leaving “viable” pipe bombs outside the headquarters of both the Republican and Democratic parties, the FBI has finally tied up a final loose thread in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. You know, apart from the fact that the insurrection’s known instigator got away with it, returned to power, and will likely never be held accountable.

Multiple media outlets report that the suspect is Virginia resident Brian Cole, who two unidentified law enforcement sources say was linked to “statements in favor of anarchist ideology,” which has been enough all on its own to lead wingnuts online to proclaim the guy was obviously an Antifa Terrorist, just like all the rioters were, although once the rioters were arrested they became patriots who simply were touring the Capitol and had to be pardoned by Donald Trump.

So far, it doesn’t appear that Tucker Carlson was correct in pinning the crime on Kamala Harris.

Oh, and this detail is fun: Just like Dorothy in Oz, the FBI had what it needed to arrest a suspect all along, according to reporting by Ken Dilanian and Carol Leonnig at MS Now:

The FBI’s case against the suspect is not based on a new breakthrough, according to two sources, but instead on a review the FBI conducted in recent weeks of evidence that had already been gathered and which the department had in its possession. The sources requested anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive case. That voluminous trove of material was largely collected in 2021 and 2022.

The suspect’s arrest is expected to cause significant embarrassment for the bureau and the enormous team it assigned to the pipe bomb investigation, the two sources said, because the suspect could have been arrested years ago if investigators had earlier connected the dots they already had in hand.

Well gosh, that should certainly quiet down wild speculation from conspiracy theorists.

Getting to the bottom of the pipe bomb case has long been an obsession of FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, although it’s not clear whether the arrest will be a Feather in his Cap or a Big Black Eye. Sure, he had urged the Bureau to focus its attention on solving the pipe bomb case, so good for him. But in his previous career as a podcaster and Fox News guest — his qualifications for the #2 spot at the FBI — Bongino always pushed the conspiracy theory that the pipe bombs were an “inside job” by the Deep State, and claimed the FBI had been covering up the truth for nefarious purposes.

It appears that instead, the FBI had simply been stepping on its dick for years, even before its new incompetent leadership came into power. Guess Bongino is a good fit for his job after all.

Embattled FBI Director Kash Patel (“embattled” is actually part of his job title now) was quick to take credit for the arrest, which given Patel’s track record may mean that Brian Cole is actually not the suspect, but was accidentally arrested while delivering pizza to the basement of one of the 47 Charlie Kirk memorials still being held this week.

In a post on Twitter (archive link), Patel generously included Bongino while congratulating himself, and even included a passing mention of the FBI agents who actually did the work. And just to make sure his boss wouldn’t be mad at him, Patel didn’t actually mention January 6 or the Capitol riots or anything. Clever little weasel, ain’t he?

Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and US Attorney Judge Boxwine held a press conference today so they could blame Joe Biden and claim that they’re all really great law enforcers, so please stop calling them Nazis. Also, we listened carefully, and we’re pretty sure the date the bombs were found wasn’t mentioned once.

No new information was actually released during the presser, although it was at least mildly amusing to hear Patel intone, “When you attack American citizens, when you attack our institutions of legislation, when you attack our nation’s Capitol, you attack the very being of our way of life.” Glad to see he finally agrees the January 6 attack on the Capitol was bad.

Here’s the full presser if you’re interested in a whole bunch of people bragging about an arrest in a crime that appears to have been part of the insurrection, which wasn’t an insurrection and was in fact a great day for freedom, but maybe the bomb plot will be spun as something wholly unrelated to the heroic actions of the January 6 Patriots. Again, enjoy the multiple references to “the DC pipe bomber,” and the lack of any mention of what day that happened.

Either way, it’s probably a good time to invade more US cities and blow up some fishing boats in the Caribbean.

AND THIS IS YOUR EARLY LID OPEN THREAD, because Wonkette doesn’t have many people at work today, and because we want to. Stay tuned for tomorrow, when Wonkette has 100 people at work! Will they still call an early lid? Maybe! You’ll just have to see.

---

Tucker Not Asking If Kamala Harris Is Real January 6 Pipe Bomber, YOU ARE!

---

[MS Now / AP / WaPo (gift link)]

Yr Wonkette is funded entirely by reader donations. If you can, please become a paid subscriber, or if you’d like to make a one-time donation, this here button will make sure your money doesn’t just sit around in an evidence locker for years.