Jill Sanborn, FBI Executive Assistant Director, National Security Branch, refused to answer on Tuesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing whether FBI agents or confidential informants actively participated in the events of January 6, 2021, and whether they committed any crimes of violence or actively encouraged crimes of violence.
Sanborn was grilled by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on the matter and repeatedly stated that she could not answer the question because she could not “go into the specifics of sources and methods.”
The two had the following exchange:
CRUZ: I want to turn to the FBI. How many FBI agents or confidential informants actively participated in the events of January 6th?
SANBORN: Sir, I’m sure you can appreciate that I can’t go into the specifics of sources and methods.
CRUZ: Did any FBI agents or confidential informants actively participate in the events of January 6th? Yes or no?
SANBORN: Sir, I can’t. I can’t answer that.
CRUZ: Did any FBI agents or confidential informants commit crimes of violence on January 6th?
SANBORN: I can’t answer that, sir.
CRUZ: Did any FBI agents or FBI informants actively encourage and incite crimes of violence on January 6th?
SANBORN: Sir, I can’t answer that.
WATCH:
Sen. Ted Cruz: "Did any FBI agents or confidential informants actively participate in the events of January 6th? Yes or no?"
FBI: "Sir, I can't answer that." pic.twitter.com/mjL6SeHWei
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 11, 2022
“A lot of Americans are concerned that the federal government deliberately encouraged illegal and violent conduct on January 6th,” Cruz later said. “My question to you and this is not an ordinary law enforcement question, this is a question of a public accountability, did federal agents are those in service of federal agent actively encouraged violent and criminal conduct on January 6?”
“Not to my knowledge, sir,” Sanborn claimed.