The US Federal Bureau of Investigation, as part of its investigation of the January 6 riots in Washington, is examining testimony according to which the woman who stole the laptop of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the Capitol planned to sell it to the Russian special services.

This is stated in the testimony sent to the court by the special agent of the cybercrime department of the FBI unit in Manassas, Jonathan Lund.

“W1 ('WITNESS 1', 'witness # 1' -

RT

) stated that Williams (Pennsylvania resident Riley June Williams -

RT

) planned to send the computer device to a friend in Russia who then planned to sell the SVR device, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

According to W1, the transfer of the computer device to Russia for unknown reasons did not take place, and the device is still in Williams' possession or she destroyed it.

The investigation is ongoing on this issue, ”the document says.

It is clarified that in the days after the events of January 6, the witness, whose identity and sex the FBI did not disclose, made several phone calls to the bureau's hotline "regarding the attacks on the US Capitol."

“I have reviewed the documentation for a number of these calls.

In them, the caller says that he and Riley June Williams have had a romantic relationship in the past, and states that he saw Williams in video footage taken at the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021.

W1 also claimed to have spoken with Williams' friends, who showed W1 a video of Williams taking a laptop or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi's office, ”the FBI said in a document.

Earlier, Pelosi's assistant Drew Hammill said on his Twitter that the stolen laptop was used only for presentations: “A laptop was stolen from the conference room.

This laptop was used for presentations only. "

A laptop from a conference room was stolen.

It was a laptop that was only used for presentations.

https://t.co/S7YGPnLaWy

- Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) January 8, 2021

A document testifying about Williams' plans to sell the stolen laptop to Russian intelligence services was published by Politico.

It is noteworthy that many American Twitter users, commenting on this material, did not express any doubt that the theft of a computer device is directly related to Moscow.


However, there were also those who reacted with distrust to this kind of information.

“Surely this is just an incredible coincidence and has nothing to do with the fabricated story about the so-called Russian trace, which has been going on for a very long time?” Wrote one of the users.

“I bet 10 to 1 that this thief simply cannot find Moscow on the map,” another participant in the discussion sneers.

Another user noted that "this story was presented a little differently on other social networks."

“Mostly they said that the laptop was stolen, but the military did it ... they say, this is the“ plan ”and so on.

It is strange that at least some information has leaked out about this laptop, ”the woman wrote.

Foreign factor

It is worth noting that on January 17, NBC News reported that the FBI had launched an investigation into the involvement of foreign governments, organizations or individuals in financing extremists associated with the siege of the Capitol.

In addition, as the channel informs, last week the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and several other departments released a report that allegedly after the January 6 riots, “Russian, Iranian and Chinese agents of influence took the opportunity to intensify their ideological rhetoric in order to to promote their political interests against the background of the transfer of presidential powers ”.

NBC News also notes that the investigation into the possible involvement of other countries in the storming of the Capitol began amid numerous hints that Russia, as well as other opponents of the United States, were allegedly trying to provide tacit support to American extremists, both far right and far left.

  • Riots in Washington on January 6

  • Reuters

  • © Shannon Stapleton

In addition, several committees of the US House of Representatives at once began proceedings over the riots in Washington.

This is stated in a joint letter from the heads of the four committees on January 16, addressed to the law enforcement agencies.

Congressmen want to know if the riots were "in any way related to foreign influence or disinformation efforts and to what extent foreign powers were keen to take advantage of the crisis and exacerbate it."

Recall that all these investigations were initiated after the events that took place on January 6, on the day the congressmen approved the electoral college vote results - a rally against the approval of the victory of Democrat Joe Biden, organized by Trump's supporters, escalated into the storming of the Capitol.

As a result of the incident, five people died, more than 50 law enforcement officers were injured.

The Democrats blamed Trump for what happened and demanded his impeachment.

On January 13, a majority of Congressmen in the House of Representatives voted to remove the incumbent from power under the article "incitement to mutiny."

At the same time, the leader of the Republican majority in the upper house, Mitch McConnell, said that the impeachment verdict would not be passed until Biden's inauguration.

At present, an emergency regime is operating in Washington, security measures have been strengthened.

According to the press service of the US National Guard, the Pentagon agreed to provide up to 25 thousand troops to ensure the necessary level of security on the day of the inauguration.

"Trying to Blow History"

As the head of the Center for Military-Political Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Batyuk noted, now they are trying to bring up the topic of "Russian intervention" to the storming of the Capitol.

In his opinion, this is what the latest media reports, initiated investigations and other data related to the riots in Washington say.

“The FBI and other government agencies of the United States are artificially trying to inflate the story, in which the“ Russian trace ”is deliberately mixed.

This is yet another attempt to portray Russia in a negative light.

The calculation is made that several phrases will be fixed in the minds of the American man in the street: a stolen laptop, Nancy Pelosi and a Russian spy, "the expert said in an interview with RT.

A similar position is adhered to by American political scientist Malek Dudakov.

According to him, law enforcement officers need to pull out as many court cases as possible from this story with the storming of the Capitol.

“The rioters will be accused of stealing federal property that could contain secrets.

They can also be blamed for treason.

After all, this can be used to mold the cause of the century, to assert as much as possible the ultra-right threat to America.

Why they decided to mix it in with Russia, the answer is simple - this is a typical villain for the American establishment, "the analyst explained in a conversation with RT.

In turn, Vladimir Batyuk stressed that the American law enforcement agencies have still "found absolutely nothing."

“Some unknown person said that Pelosi's stolen laptop was supposedly going to be sold to the Russian special services.

These are just words, not supported by any facts.

The same lady, if caught, can declare that she had no such thoughts, that she wanted to keep the laptop with her as a souvenir.

In this case, her words will go against the testimony of the witness.

On the whole, the prospects of the case are very dubious.

The girl can be attracted as a last resort for petty theft and for breaking into the Capitol.

US law enforcement officers will not be able to find a "Russian trace" here, "the analyst said.

Malek Dudakov also believes that the testimony of an anonymous witness set out in the document of the FBI special agent "is not worth a damn."

“In fact, Trump supporters can only be accused of getting inside the Capitol, behaving inaccurately there.

But such an interpretation of events in the United States is of little interest to anyone.

There must be treason, and even in the interests of Russia, as well as a rebellion and all the ensuing consequences, "the expert emphasized.

According to Dudakov, the current actions of the US law enforcement agencies are an attempt to make the most of the situation and send as many Trumpists as possible to prison.

Moreover, after Biden's inauguration, the number of investigations will only increase, he is sure. 

“People will be imprisoned for long terms under the pretext that the United States has prevented an attempted“ rebellion ”, extinguished the“ uprising ”and overcame the“ extremists, ”the expert predicts.

At the same time, attempts to denigrate Moscow will continue, Vladimir Batyuk believes.

“This will be done despite the fact that it was the Americans who stormed the Capitol.

But US law enforcement and other structures still intend to see at least some kind of connection with Russia here.

These people are in a completely different reality, ”the analyst concluded.