The Atlantic is reporting that the FBI is looking into a matter sent to them by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller about an anonymous woman who is alleging she was offered $20,000 to make a false allegation of sexual harassment against Mueller. The woman had initially spoken to at least ten reporters from a variety of news outlets, who were unable to verify her account. In a letter to a reporter, she claimed, a man “offered to pay off all of my credit card debt, plus bring me a check for $20,000 if I would do.” She added, “He knew exactly how much credit card debt I had, right down to the dollar, which sort of freaked me out.”
The woman named GOP operative John Burkman, who also hosts a talk radio show and frequently promotes conspiracy theories, as being part of the operation. Burkman has released a video on Facebook claiming that Mueller “has a whole lifetime history of harassing women,” but thus far has not included evidence.
As The Atlantic notes, the complicated narrative seems to involve a Twitter conspiracy theorist named Jacob Wohl and a company he owns:
The man said he worked for a company named Surefire Intelligence, which describes itself as “a private intel agency that designs and executes bespoke solutions for businesses and individuals who face complex business and litigation challenges.” Surefire’s domain records list an email for another pro-Trump conspiracy theorist, Jacob Wohl, who began hyping a “scandalous” Mueller story on Tuesday morning. Wohl told The Daily Beast that Burkman had hired Surefire to assist with his investigation into Mueller’s past, but denied knowing anything about the firm’s involvement in an alleged plot to fabricate allegations against Mueller when asked why his email address appeared in the domain records. He did not respond when asked by NBC why a number listed on Surefire’s website referred callers to another number that is listed in public records as belonging to Wohl’s mother.
One complicating factor is that Scott Stedman, a journalist investigating the matter, believes the woman claiming she was offered money might not be legit, either: Rather, she might be a hoax-within-a-hoax, designed to discredit reporters.
Stedman’s tweets on this matter are worth considering:
2 weeks ago, I, along with other journalists were set an email from a woman who alleged that she was a former colleague of Mueller. She said that Jack Burkman, via an intermediary, offered her tens of thousands to make up sexual assault claims against Mueller.
— Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) October 30, 2018
I found the woman to be unreliable, she wouldn't get on the phone, she wouldn't give me any other contact information. She did however give me the phone number of the intermediary who allegedly offered this money on behalf of Burkman.
— Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) October 30, 2018
I discussed this with other journalists, mainly @NatashaBertrand, but I concluded that this was an effort to discredit the media. However, it appears now that Burkman is trying to move forward with these claims. The Special Counsel's office has referred the matter to the FBI.
— Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) October 30, 2018