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On 29 Nov 2021, Bob Duncan <bob7duncan@gmail.com> posted some news:so3ik4$ild$65@news.dns-netz.com:

Anonymous wrote

The Nazis are coming for you America.

Washington — Prosecutors in the trial of the Proud Boys conceded Thursday
that a witness to be called by the defense had previously been paid by the
FBI as a confidential informant against members of the far right group in
the months before five of its members were to be tried for seditious conspiracy.

According to court documents filed late Wednesday by defendant Zachary
Rehl, between April 2022 and January 2023, the unnamed female FBI
informant was "in contact via telephone, text messaging and other
electronic means, with one or more of the counsel for the defense and at
least one defendant."

Prosecutors say the FBI ended its relationship with the informant upon
learning in January that she might be called as a defense witness, in
order to ensure she did not provide information about the case to
government and violate any defendant's attorney-client privilege.
Confidential human sources are a tool used by federal investigators to
obtain information and their identities are usually protected.

Rehl and four members of the Proud Boys — including leader Enrique Tarrio
— are currently on trial for attempting to use force to prevent the
peaceful transfer of power from former President Donald Trump to President
Joe Biden during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. All of them have pleaded
not guilty.

In court on Thursday, attorneys for Tarrio revealed they intended to call
the anonymous witness, but they grew concerned after prosecutors told them
she had previously acted as a confidential human source for federal investigators.

Court papers revealed the informant had allegedly attended prayer meetings
with "one or more" of the defendants' families.

"The government disclosed this information for the first time on the day
before the witness was scheduled to appear," Rehl's attorney alleged in
court documents.

Prosecutors said in court on Thursday they had only recently discovered
that the informant would be called as a witness in Tarrio's defense and informed the defense as soon as the law required. The Justice Department
wrote in court filings that it "neither relied upon any evidence from nor referenced the [individual] in question" when preparing their case against Tarrio and his codefendants.

"The FBI never tasked the [informant] with gathering any information on
the defendants or their defense counsel," prosecutors wrote. "And although
the FBI was generally aware that the [confidential human source (CHS)] was active in assisting defendants charged with crimes related to the January
6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and their families, including by
assisting in fundraising efforts and protesting against their conditions
of confinement, the FBI intentionally chose to never ask the CHS about her relationship with defendant Enrique Tarrio or any of the other defendants
or counsel."

"There has been no intrusion on the defense camp, and no such records or recordings exist."

During Thursday's proceedings before Judge Timothy Kelly, which were
conducted outside the presence of the jury, defense attorneys called the revelations "stunning." Some asked for a fact-finding hearing, and others argued the trial should be paused.

Kelly said he would not halt the trial and instead instructed the parties
to raise any issues regarding the witness in real time. Tarrio's lawyers
say they still intend to call her to testify.

The judge said although he understood the defendants' concerns, the record before him indicated that no defendants or attorneys had been implicated
by the informant's relationship with the FBI and that government's legal
team on the Proud Boys case had not been aware of the arrangement.
Prosecutors have turned records over to the judge from the informant's relationship with investigators.

The high-profile criminal trial is currently nearing the end of its second month. Prosecutors rested their case last week after calling dozens of witnesses, including former members of the far-right group who had agreed
to cooperate.

Defense testimony is scheduled to resume on Friday.

<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/proud-boys-trial-defense-witness-paid-fbi- informant/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a>

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