'Beyond reason': Ex-FBI agent deconstructs conspiracy theory about Trump assassination

The explosion of a conspiracy theory that the Justice Department, or possibly President Joe Biden himself, ordered an assassination against former President Donald Trump, is worth deconstructing, wrote former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa and House January 6 Committee investigator Tom Joscelyn in an analysis for Just Security.

The claim stems from a small section in documents about the Mar-a-Lago classified documents search two years ago, which details the authorization of deadly force by FBI agents, which led some far-right lawmakers like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) to suggest the agents were instructed to shoot Trump.

But in fact, this was quickly debunked by Justice Department officials and legal experts — the deadly force language is boilerplate that goes in all federal search warrants, and was also used in the search of President Joe Biden's premises in his own classified documents investigation.

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"In light of this background and history, it is tempting to dismiss the claim that President Biden intended to assassinate Trump as silly nonsense," wrote Rangappa and Joscelyn. "For anyone operating within the bounds of reason, it is easily disproved. But that is the point – the networks of people that believe in such conspiracies are often beyond reason. If such conspiracy-mongering was confined to the fringes of the Internet, as it once was, then its threat to our democracy would be negligible. But those days are long past."

Beyond this, they noted, the theory — which appears to have originated with top right-wing influencer and self-described "J6 conspiracy theorist" and "insurrection denier" Julie Kelly — "serves a political and ideological purpose – namely, to undermine the public’s confidence in the U.S. government and the rule of law." Something Trump has repeatedly sought to do by casting aspersions on court officers and their families at his Manhattan criminal trial.

Furthermore, they warned, it ties into what Trump plans to do with the federal government if re-elected.

"It is no secret that some of Trump’s allies are plotting to 'purge' the DOJ and the FBI’s leadership should Trump regain the presidency. They would replace career professionals with Trump 'loyalists' who will follow even controversial orders," they concluded. "The pretext for their plans is that the DOJ and FBI are hopelessly biased against Trump. It is easy to see how the latest conspiracy theory, or ones like it, could be used to justify Trump’s autocratic consolidation of power."