At least 12 confidential informants have helped the FBI build a case against men accused of planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to a new court filing.
In the ongoing federal case against five defendants, the government has identified at least a dozen such sources by number, a lawyer for one of the defendants wrote in the document. The sources “were assisted by FBI agents working undercover,” said Scott Graham, an attorney representing Kaleb Franks.
“Kaleb is entitled to raise the alternative defense of entrapment. If a jury finds that Kaleb agreed with anyone to kidnap Governor Whitmer, the same jury could find that Kaleb was induced to participate by government agents,” Graham wrote in a motion to a federal judge hearing the case.
“Kaleb is entitled to fully explore and present this defense. To do this, Kaleb needs access to the CHS files maintained by the government. These files are required by FBI and [Department of Justice] rules and will provide crucial information regarding entrapment issues that will not be available elsewhere.”
Federal prosecutors charged Franks and five others last year with planning to kidnap Whitmer, a Democrat. Another seven men were charged on the state level.
Richard Trask II, an FBI special agent, wrote in an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint that the bureau “relied on information provided by Confidential Human Sources (CHS) and Undercover Employees (UCE) over several months.” – READ MORE
Listen to the insightful Thomas Paine Podcast Below --