A letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee is leading right-wing conspiracy theorists to believe that Christine Blasey Ford, who has alleged that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party in high school, is part of an ongoing “deep state” effort to undermine President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Last week, disproven claims that Blasey Ford was “deeply tied to the CIA” began churning among right-wing fever swamps online, driven by such personalities as Michael Savage and Alex Jones. Nonetheless, the conspiracy theory has intensified and spread, accumulating fanciful details in attempts to further validate claims that Blasey Ford is connected to a deep-state plan to destroy the president that involves secret forces within the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, and Central Intelligence Agency. Now, denizens of the right-wing conspiracy theory internet, as well as a few prominent conservatives, have seemingly become convinced that Blasey Ford is, in fact, a “deep state” asset.
Yesterday, right-wing media began circulating a letter from an unnamed ex-boyfriend of Blasey Ford’s claiming that Blasey Ford had never mentioned that she had been a victim of sexual assault and that he had witnessed her prepare a roommate for a polygraph exam he claimed was part of the roommate’s application for government jobs—a claim refuted by the roommate mentioned. This letter, compounded with news that an attorney also representing fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe represents Blasey Ford pro-bono, ignited a firestorm of unfounded accusations.
Monday, the anonymous poster at the center of the QAnon conspiracy theory said that Blasey Ford’s “family has strong ties to the SWAMP.” In another post on October 3, after the ex-boyfriend’s letter was released, Q threw gasoline onto the fire and suggested to followers that Ford was coached by the “C_A” (meant to represent the CIA), and is part of a sleeper cell network of sexual assault accusers.
The Conservative Tree House published an article this morning alleging that the woman who Blasey Ford allegedly help prep for a potential polygraph had been present when Blasey Ford wrote a letter to Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., detailing her allegations about Kavanaugh, asserting that this allegation is proof that the deep state was responsible. The article contains two photos featuring women who the site alleges is the roommate Blasey Ford allegedly trained. (In one of those photos, a woman is standing next to Michael Avenatti.) The site made similar claims on Twitter that gained notable traction.
In a since-deleted tweet that “Pizzagate” pusher and One America News correspondent Jack Posobiec shared, he promoted the conspiracy theory, featuring in his feed the photo at the bottom of The Conservative Tree House’s article. Posobiec quote-tweeted the image with the commentary, “Big if true,” but back-peddled shortly after.
I’m skeptical, would be too much of a coincidence, right?
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) October 3, 2018
Fringe conspiracy website WhatDoesItMean.com wrote today that Blasey Ford was “an operative working for fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.” This morning, Candace Owens, communications director of Turning Point USA, tweeted out that Blasey Ford has “direct ties to the FBI.”
Also- How stunningly convenient that Christine Ford has direct ties to the FBI. The same FBI, which has staged a WITCH HUNT against our President?!
This is an implausible level of corruption.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) October 3, 2018
Likewise, Margot Cleveland, a freelance writer whose Twitter bio says has been published in The Federalist, National Review, and Washington Examiner, speculated that the roommate Ford allegedly helped train for a polygraph could be “involved in Spygate.”
Please tell me that Ford's friend she helped with the polygraph for the FBI isn't involved in Spygate….because otherwise I think we're all done. pic.twitter.com/hLffSak75h
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) October 3, 2018
