Former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said he has provided information to the Justice Department for its investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation.
In multiple interviews Thursday, following his exit from the e-commerce retailer he led for two decades, Byrne described how he was an informant for the FBI and later turned to Attorney General William Barr when he felt that he had become part of a “deep state” plot.
Byrne told Fox News that he has provided documents that made their way to U.S. Attorney John Durham, whom Barr has tasked with leading the review of the DOJ’s and FBI’s conduct in the early stages of the inquiry into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
In an interview with CNN, Byrne said he fed his information to the DOJ on Apr. 5 and Apr. 30, after which it was revealed that Durham had been asked to determine if there was any wrongdoing at the genesis of the Trump-Russia probe.
The 57-year-old multimillionaire resigned as CEO on Thursday, saying it was best for Overstock. The company saw its shares plummet more than 30% after he publicly detailed his involvement in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Byrne claimed that beginning in 2015, the FBI reached out to him for help in conducting law enforcement activities. He said he later discovered that he was being used in a “political espionage” effort targeting Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Sen. Ted Cruz. Byrne also said he liked former President Barack Obama and did not vote for Trump.
Byrne said he received orders down the pipeline from former FBI agent Peter Strzok, who played key roles in the Clinton emails and Russia investigations. Strzok was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation after it was discovered he exchanged anti-Trump text messages with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was having an affair, and was fired last year. Byrne said federal officials confirmed with him that it was Strzok who gave him orders.
Claiming the bureau was “hijacked from the top,” Byrne also named former FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe as being aware of his role. He told CNN host Chris Cuomo, who asked about the names of the people who contacted him, that he is “highly confident” Barr will be naming the three individuals in an indictment in the near future.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the FBI, DOJ, and Strzok’s lawyer. The FBI and Strzok’s lawyer declined to comment, while the DOJ did not immediately return the request for comment
Byrne said he is not the only “whistleblower” coming forward, and asserted that Clinton’s supporters in Hollywood were targets of spying.
As Byrne faced questions from skeptical interviewers on Thursday, CNN reported that a U.S. official confirmed that Byrne shared information about the early stages of the Russia investigation during a meeting earlier this year. This source said Justice officials found part of Byrne’s story to be credible because what he was saying was not widely known.
Byrne is the latest person to emerge as a possible FBI informant used over the course of the counterintelligence investigation into Trump’s campaign. Another one of these individuals is Stefan Halper, a 75-year-old Cambridge professor who reportedly had discussions with at least three Trump campaign members: foreign policy aides George Papadopoulos, Carter Page, and Trump campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis. The New York Times reported in April that the Justice Department inspector general was looking into his actions to see if he exceeded the scope of his assignment.
Byrne first revealed a couple weeks ago to the Washington Examiner his claim that he engaged in a sexual relationship with Russian spy Maria Butina at the encouragement of the FBI, but did not rekindle the romantic aspect of their relationship when asked to do so as the Russia investigation progressed. Byrne said he had been swept up in “political espionage” and a “deep state” plot. Butina was sentenced in April to 18 months in prison for conspiring with a senior Russian official to infiltrate conservative American political circles and influence U.S. relations with Russia.
Byrne, who claimed he was offered a $1 billion “bribe” to keep quiet, said he received advice from billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whom he called his “rabbi,” and chose to come forward because he felt guilty, tying the decision to the recent wave of deadly mass shootings.
“The issue is, I realized that these orders I got came from Peter Strzok, and as I put together things, I know much more than I should know and tried to keep silent,” he told Fox Business. “This country has gone nuts, and especially for the last year when I realized what I know, every time I see one of these things, somebody drives 600 miles to gun down 20 strangers in the mall, I guess I feel a bit responsible.”
