FBI Tried to Get Journalist Fired Five Times Over January 6 Reporting
"Five times individuals from the seventh floor of the FBI, the Hoover building, called my bosses to try to get me fired. And Bongino called twice. He was the first one."
About this episode
Tucker Carlson interviews investigative journalist Steve Baker in an extensive examination of the January 6 pipe bomb mystery, one of the most significant unresolved aspects of that day's events. Baker, who was criminally charged for his January 6 journalism and spent years analyzing Capitol security footage, presents evidence challenging the official narrative. He claims the pipe bombs planted at the RNC and DNC were inert training devices, not real explosives, and that FBI leadership knew this immediately. Baker alleges Capitol Police counter-surveillance officers had foreknowledge of the bomb locations, going directly to the only two spots the bomber had sat the previous night. Most explosively, Baker identifies former Capitol Police officer Shaunie Kirkoff, now employed by the CIA, as the likely bomber based on gait recognition technology showing a 94-98% match. He reports Kirkoff failed an FBI polygraph about the bombings. Five days after Baker publicly named Kirkoff, the FBI arrested Brian Cole Jr., an autistic black man who Baker argues is physically incompatible with the bomber based on shoe size and gait analysis. Baker also reveals that U.S. Army special operators were embedded in the January 6 crowd under orders, and that a Homeland Security Investigations agent assigned to investigate the pipe bombs was found dead under suspicious circumstances, with intelligence community sources refusing to believe it was suicide. The episode details alleged FBI efforts to silence Baker's reporting, including five attempts to get him fired, and reveals that House Republican leadership prohibited the January 6 committee from investigating the Capitol Police. Baker argues January 6 was not a spontaneous event but a manipulated operation involving elements of the Department of Defense, Capitol Police, and CIA designed to permanently damage Donald Trump's political future.
Key takeaways
- Steve Baker claims U.S. Army special forces operators were embedded in the January 6 crowd in plain clothes under orders, a fact later reported and then denied by Newsweek.
- Gait recognition technology identified former Capitol Police officer Shaunie Kirkoff, now a CIA employee, as a 94-98% match to the pipe bomber, and she allegedly failed an FBI polygraph.
- A Homeland Security Investigations senior agent assigned to investigate the pipe bombs was found dead under suspicious circumstances days after being briefed on the case, with no medical examiner report released six months later.
- FBI sources told Baker the January 6 pipe bombs were identified immediately as inert training devices, contradicting official characterizations of them as dangerous weapons of mass destruction.
- Secret Service agents protecting Kamala Harris at the DNC showed no reaction for over two minutes after being told a bomb was 10 feet away, suggesting they knew the devices were harmless.
- The FBI arrested autistic black man Brian Cole Jr. for the pipe bombings five days after Baker publicly identified Kirkoff, despite forensic evidence showing Cole's shoe size and gait are incompatible with the bomber.
- FBI leadership, including Dan Bongino, attempted to get Baker fired from The Blaze five times over his January 6 reporting and whistleblower coverage.