US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a fresh attack on the FBI, claiming that hundreds of undercover agents were secretly present during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot — contradicting public statements made by the bureau’s former director Christopher Wray.Trump, citing a report from The Blaze, alleged that the FBI had deployed 274 plainclothes agents into the crowds in Washington, DC, that day, though it remains unclear if all were inside the Capitol crowd.”“It was just revealed that the FBI had secretly placed, against all Rules, Regulations, Protocols, and Standards, 274 FBI Agents into the Crowd just prior to, and during, the January 6th Hoax,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.He further accused Wray of misleading lawmakers. “This is different from what Director Christopher Wray stated, over and over again! I want to know who each and every one of these so-called ‘Agents’ are, and what they were up to on that now ‘Historic’ Day,” Trump said.He added, “Christopher Wray, the then Director of the FBI, has some major explaining to do. That’s two in a row, Comey and Wray, who got caught LYING”.The justice department’s inspector general report last year stated it found “no evidence” of undercover FBI employees in the protest crowds or at the Capitol. However, the same report confirmed that 26 confidential informants were present, including four who entered the Capitol without authorisation, as per the New York Post.Democrats pushed back swiftly. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said on MSNBC that Trump was “lying to the American people about the events of January 6,” accusing him of inciting the violence and now attempting to deflect blame, reported CNN.The renewed focus comes as Trump’s allies in Congress have formed a subcommittee to investigate federal involvement in the riot. Rep Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga), who chairs the panel, said earlier this month, “With that many paid informants being in the crowd, we want to know how many were in the crowd, how many were in the building, but I also want to know, were they paid to inform or instigate?”, as per the New York Post.The controversy coincided with the indictment of former FBI director James Comey on charges of making false statements to Congress. Trump, who previously pardoned January 6 rioters, has portrayed the prosecutions as part of a campaign against “Great American Patriots” and vowed to expose what he described as “dirty cops and crooked politicians.”
