FBI official Steven D’Antuono has testified that the geolocation data of the individual who planted pipe bombs outside of the Republican and Democratic national headquarters on the eve of Jan. 6 has been “corrupted.”
D’Antuono revealed to the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee that the bureau had attempted to geofence the area in a bid to identify the anonymous suspect. “We have complete data,” D’Antuono initially asserted, but quickly recanted, clarifying that the data were “not complete because there’s some data that was corrupted by one of the providers.”
WATCH: CRAZY FBI Testimony Claims Cell Data of January 6th Pipe Bomber Corrupted
He affirmed that the data “wasn’t purposely corrupted” and described it as an “unusual circumstance.” D’Antuono conceded that the compromised data could have potentially identified the bomber, calling it “awful because we don’t have that information to search.” He pointed out, “So maybe if we did have that — that data wasn’t corrupted — and it wasn’t purposely corrupted. I don’t want any conspiracy theories, right. To my knowledge, it wasn’t corrupted, you know, but that could have been good information that we don’t have, right. So that is painful for us not to have that. So we looked at everything.”
The information was revealed in a letter addressed to FBI Director Christopher Wray from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). The letter noted that the testimony “raises concerns about the FBI’s handling of the pipe bomb investigation” and emphasized that “The FBI has failed to respond to the Committee’s requests for a briefing regarding the investigation.”
While the dual bomb threats were neutralized on Jan. 6, the identity of the perpetrator remains unknown. One theory suggests the bombs were intended to be a diversion.
In response to this, D’Antuono commented, “We’ll never know until we find the person that actually did — or persons that actually did it,” adding, “Obviously, it’s one theory. But is it the only theory? I don’t — I really don’t know.”
The FBI has offered a reward of up to $500,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect and has asked the public for assistance in the investigation. Meanwhile, the GOP congressmen reiterated their request for a comprehensive FBI briefing and asked for “all documents and communications referring or relating to the FBI’s gathering of cellphone records relating to the placement of the pipe bombs” and other related reports and analyses. They specifically requested “all documents and communications referring or relating to video and other material concerning the identification of the individual who discovered the pipe bomb” outside the DNC.
