According to documents filed by government prosecutors in response to a motion by the defendants in the alleged kidnapping plot against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) informants turned rogue during the plot.
The controversy stems from Steve Robeson, a Confidential Human Source (CHS) in the case.
“CHS Steve was a noncompliant informant and an unreliable declarant,” prosecutors said. “As with all informants, before cooperating with the FBI, he agreed to a number of terms and rules. Those included following agent direction, not committing unsanctioned crimes, candid disclosure to his handling agents, and others.”
The government said Robeson violated those conditions in a number of ways, including “offering use of 501(c) charity funds to purchase weapons for attacks, obtaining and possessing weapons while prohibited from doing so because he was a felon, [and] offering personal equipment, like the use of a drone, to aid in acts of domestic terrorism.”
Robeson was indicted on that gun charge. He pleaded guilty, but received no jail time despite prior criminal convictions.
The informant also failed to record and document pertinent conversations, the government said. He also allegedly attempted to forewarn some of the defendants before their arrests.
Prosecutors argued that since Robeson was a “double agent” working against the interests of the government, his statements, which could help the defendants in their defenses, cannot represent the statements of the federal government. The term “unreliable declarant,” used by the government to describe Robeson, is an accusation that he is a liar.
But the defense argues that Robeson’s interactions with the accused plotters should be admissible as evidence, and that Robeson’s statements amount to entrapment.
BuzzFeed reports that Robeson is also currently under investigation for fraud.
The revelation further complicates the case against the defendants, which at one point seemed like an easy win for the government.
In September, the FBI fired its lead investigator on the case, who was accused of beating his wife after the couple returned home from a swingers party. Another investigator was precluded from testifying against the defendants after it was discovered that he used anti-Trump slurs, a revelation that gives the case more than a whiff of politicism. Another FBI informant stands accused of telling one of the defendants to lie.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Michigan Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Gretchen Whitmer” by Gretchen Whitmer. Background Photo “FBI Minneapolis Division Field Office” by Tony Webster. CC BY-SA 2.0.
