CNN anchor Jake Tapper said Wednesday on his show “The Lead” that members of Congress forwarding a “fringe conspiracy theory” about a man named Ray Epps, were not members of the high IQ society, Mensa International.
Tapper said, “This is a fringe conspiracy theory, but I have to ask you because it’s showing up at congressional hearings raised by House and Senate Republicans. An Arizona man, Ray Epps, has become a target of what appears to be a completely baseless right-wing conspiracy theory that he was an undercover FBI agent or informant or operative at the Capitol on January 6 last year. That he was planted by the government, this is the conspiracy theory. Planted by the government to encourage the insurrection. From his public profile and from reports about Epps, it appears he’s a Trump supporter and a former member of the Arizona branch of the far right-wing group the Oath Keepers. Has the January 6th Committee looked into this accusation at all to see if there’s any truth to it?”
Correspondent Ryan Nobles said, “Yes, they have Jake. The committee put out a statement yesterday saying that they have interviewed and talked with Ray Epps about his conduct around the Capitol on January 6 and that they specifically asked Epps if he’s ever been employed by any federal government agency, specifically the FBI, to which he told them no. They also specifically asked him if he was an informant. He also said that he has never at any point in his life been an FBI informant.”
He continued, “Part of this conspiracy — there’s no evidence of which to back up — is at one point Epps was on a list of individuals that the FBI was looking for, as it relates to activity related to the Capitol insurrection, and he was eventually taken off that list. The conspiracy theorists have run wild with that, many of them members of Congress, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tommy Massie, even Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Of course, none of that has to do with his status as FBI informant.”
Tapper said, “Wait a second, they thought the FBI put an image of one of their undercover operatives online and said ‘wanted’ and then took it off? That makes no sense at all.”
Nobles said, “That’s the most specific piece of quote-unquote ‘evidence’ they’ve offered when it comes to this conspiracy theory, Jake. There’s just nothing else that would lend you to believe there’s any facts.”
Tapper said, “Not exactly a Mensa group there.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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