Investigative journalist Julie Kelly told Newsmax on Monday she hopes a revamped FBI will finally uncover the truth behind the mysterious pipe bombs discovered outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021 — a case she argued was prematurely dropped and riddled with inconsistencies.
Kelly told "The Chris Salcedo Show" and guest host Lidia Curanaj the woman who reported finding one of the devices near the RNC deserves renewed scrutiny. Kelly identified the woman as an employee of FirstNet, a company that works with law enforcement and first responders on broadband communication during emergencies.
"It's really important to emphasize this point," Kelly said. "That RNC device set off the first wave of panic" leading to evacuations of nearby congressional buildings and frenzied media coverage.
Kelly noted that the woman claimed to have discovered the device at about 12:40 p.m., during a midday laundry trip on a freezing, windy Wednesday when much of Washington had emptied out ahead of expected protests.
"Why did this woman decide at noon, precisely at noon, as the president was speaking, to do her laundry in the middle of the day on a Wednesday, on a freezing frigid day, 20 mph winds," Kelly said.
"Most of Washington, people who live there, had already left because they were expecting all this chaos on Jan. 6. And why then, at her trip back at 12:40, did she suddenly discover this device lying on the ground near a garbage can?"
Kelly said new FBI records showed discrepancies between the woman's public statements and her interviews with investigators — including inconsistent descriptions of a "suspicious woman" she said she saw near the site. Surveillance video, Kelly added, showed no sign of such a person.
The FBI has said the two pipe bombs were planted the night before the Capitol riot, between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. The devices were described as viable and potentially deadly.
"That also was a lie because they were not viable in any way, shape or form, especially with this 60-minute kitchen timer that was set 17 hours earlier," Kelly said. "And then, coincidentally, in the case of the RNC bomber, set 20 minutes exactly to coincide with the joint session [of Congress] convening at 1 p.m. that day.
"This story is suspicious all the way around, and that's why it's imperative that this FBI gets the job done that the old FBI refused to do."
Kelly said the investigation was "basically shut down" and not pursued by the Biden administration's Department of Justice in the spring of 2021.
"That raises a lot of questions," she said. "I think the current FBI, especially [Director] Kash Patel and [Deputy Director] Dan Bongino, definitely want to find out who this individual is, or individuals were, who planted those devices and hold them responsible, especially after not stepping forward years later and basically obstructing this very important investigation."
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