#january-6-investigation

#january-6-investigation

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is reportedly already clearing out his office ahead of an imminent departure from the Bureau and a potential return to the MAGA media circuit, the New York Times has reported. Bongino has told associates he could leave as soon as this week or as late as mid-January, people familiar with his plans told The Times on Wednesday. He has not yet made a formal announcement.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper was taken to task by MAGA influencers after claiming on-air Thursday that the newly arrested January 6 pipe bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr. was white moments before showing photos that proved he wasn't. Tapper reported on the suspect's identity during Thursday's The Lead, referring to Cole Jr., a 30-year-old white man from the D.C. suburbs.

But since then, Trump and Republicans have pursued a campaign to scandalize Smith's investigations, making false and misleading claims about the conduct of an operation to investigate January 6 and the attempt to overturn the election, code-named Arctic Frost. As Trump neared the end of his Asia trip Wednesday, he posted a new rant about Smith's probe in which he attacked Smith as a criminal and referred to him and his team as thugs who belong in prison:

Steve Bannon wants to make one thing clear: He did his time in a brutal prison, not in a leisurely camp like that p*ssy [Michael] Cohen. Bannon made that comment, and shared details about his four-month prison term for a forthcoming book from ABC Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl titled Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America; an excerpt from the book, set to be released on Oct. 28, was published by The Atlantic on Tuesday.

President Trump signed a series of executive orders, including one terminating the security clearances of those who work at the law firm Perkins Coie.