Top Trump FBI officials claimed pipe bombs were an FBI 'inside job'

WASHINGTON – Prior to joining the Trump administration, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino promoted conspiracy theories about the pipe bombs planted in Washington, DC, ahead of the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, going as far as calling it an “inside job.”

The Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, identified a suspect in the case on Dec. 4 after a nearly five-year investigation.

But years before, both Patel and Bongino repeatedly cast doubt on the investigation into the pipe bombs found outside the facilities, specifically the one found at the Democratic National Committee headquarters because Kamala Harris, who was then-vice president-elect, was at the facility.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, alongside Patel and Bongino, on Dec. 4 identified Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, as the suspect in the investigation into the pipe bombs found outside both the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters.

Cole is being charged with use of an explosive device as more search warrants were still being executed on Dec. 4, Bondi said at a press conference.