by WorldTribune Staff, March 8, 2024
That FBI went to great lengths to hide their affiliation with a key individual involved in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Long identified in the case by the FBI as an “individual from Wisconsin,” Steve Robeson, who some insisted was the “architect” of the plot, blew his cover by spilling on a live stream that he was indeed that individual.
So, who exactly is Steve Robeson?
Robeson was a paid informant who had been infiltrating militia groups for more than 35 years.
His role as an informant in the Whitmer kidnapping plot was supposed to be a tightly held secret. FBI agents had written the charging documents to conceal his identity.
It was reportedly the FBI’s own sloppy paperwork, however, that enabled lawyers for defendants in the plot and media to discover that Robeson was active in nearly all of the key development points of the FBI-fueled plot to kidnap Whitmer.
It was Robeson who allegedly “organized the initial June 6, 2020, meeting in Dublin, Ohio, where the entire Michigan Plot was allegedly hatched. He even allegedly paid for the attendees’ hotel rooms to travel there,” Revolver News noted.
“It’s no wonder, then, that the government did everything in its power to prevent Robeson’s identity as an informant from coming out and sabotaging their carefully crafted entrapment operation,” Revolver News added. “And sure enough, shortly after Robeson reluctantly blew his cover on the aforementioned live stream, the government hit Robeson with a gun charge and accused him of being a ‘double agent.’ Note that in addition to his criminal history in a motorcycle gang, Robeson had been convicted of sex crimes and was thus not allowed to possess or use firearms.”
Revolver News continued: “There is a fascinating moment in the October 14 preliminary hearing where Detroit FBI Field Office Special Agent Richard Trask brings personal notes to the stand, which he only consults when talking about key events concerning the ‘individual from Wisconsin.’ When questioned on cross-examination about the contents of the notes and why they weren’t disclosed to defense counsel, Special Agent Trask says his admits his notes were prepped in a joint meeting the night before between the FBI and DOJ. When defense counsel Graham motions the judge for a copy of the notes, DOJ prosecutor Kessler rushes in to specify that defense counsel will only get a redacted version of the notes because they relate to unindicted co-conspirators and concealed-identity informants.”
In a March 6 report, The Intercept notes that the feds went to even greater lengths than previously reported “to prevent the uncomfortable truth of Robeson’s role in the Michigan plot from spoiling their case.”
The Intercept reported that it obtained leaked audio of an FBI interrogation of Robeson in which the key agents in charge explicitly threaten Robeson, reminding him of their leverage, and direct him to lie and withhold information in order to prevent the defense from mounting an entrapment case.
The recordings were never allowed into evidence in any of the Whitmer plot trials.
The Intercept notes:
So on December 10, 2020, agents called Robeson into the FBI’s office in Milwaukee in an apparent attempt to silence him. In an extraordinary five-hour conversation, which FBI agents recorded, one of Robeson’s handlers told him: “A saying we have in my office is, ‘Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story,’ right?” Despite federal and state trials involving the kidnapping plot, this recording — which goes to the heart of questions about whether the FBI entrapped the would-be kidnappers — was never allowed into evidence. The Intercept exclusively obtained the full recording and is publishing key portions for the first time.
The FBI agents asked Robeson to sign a nondisclosure agreement and proceeded to coach and threaten him to shape his story and ensure that he would never testify before a jury. Their coercion of Robeson undermines the Justice Department’s claim, in court records, that Robeson was a “double agent” whose actions weren’t under the government’s control. The agents also made it clear that they had leverage: They knew Robeson had committed crimes while working for the FBI.
“We know we have power, right?” an FBI agent told Robeson during this meeting. “We know we have leverage. We’re not going to bullshit you.”
The Intercept also details how Robeson was involved in a reconnaissance mission to Whitmer’s home and how he lied to one of the participants, saying that they were searching for pedophiles rather than driving by the governor’s house.
“The FBI handlers in the case, of course, encouraged Robeson to revise his version of events, which could be inconvenient to their case against the defendant in question,” the report said.
During a Dec. 10, 2020, recorded interview with Robeson, the FBI states that Robeson would be the other participant’s “star witness for the defense” if he stuck with his story and stressed “there’s zero options for that.”
Revolver News summed it up:
“The case of Steve Robeson offers a glimpse into the dark dealings of an FBI gone completely rogue and underscores some important points. Robeson’s longstanding relationship with the FBI as an informant and as a criminal in a motorcycle gang underscores the shadowy intersection between the criminal underworld and the deep state. Indeed, the FBI and CIA are known to offer protection to underworld figures in exchange for information and cooperation. Just as reliable as the government’s cooperation with underworld figures is the practice of burning such informants and sources when the assets become liabilities, as was the case with Robeson. Of course, Robeson wasn’t the first and won’t be the last government asset burned by the government.”
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