Well-informed person I spoke to several people who claim that Thiel became a “confidential human source” for a Los Angeles-based agent named Johnathan Buma, a term that indicates a long-standing relationship with the FBI, which reportedly began in 2021. While Thiel was once a top-profile supporter of former President Donald Trump, the subject of multiple FBI investigations, the agreement is said to have excluded any information about Thiel’s internal political contacts. Well-informed person He says he focused instead on “foreign contacts and intrigue in Silicon Valley,” including potentially foreign influence operations in the tech industry. Apparently, he was outed as revenge for not investing in a right-wing blogger’s startups.
Neither Thiel nor the FBI commented. Well-informed person about the report. and one of insider information sources is Charles Johnson, a far-right political figure and blogger who Well-informed person recognizes that a mix of accurate and false information in the past. But Johnson’s relationship with Thiel has been reported before, including in Kashmir Hill’s recent book about facial recognition startup Clearview AI, a Johnson company. claims in a lawsuit having co-founded (In that March lawsuit, Johnson also identifies himself as an FBI informant.) Well-informed person he introduced Thiel to Buma and then exposed him because Johnson “felt betrayed because Thiel did not invest in Johnson’s startups, which he expected Thiel to do in return.”
Maintaining longtime informant status would put Thiel at odds with parts of the Republican Party, which has become hostile to the FBI amid its investigations into Trump. (Admittedly, that hostility didn’t stop Trump’s Truth Social notifying the agency to a man who made threats on the social network.) But Thiel has taken a step back from politics during the 2024 US presidential election, reportedly because he felt Republicans were focused on domestic culture wars rather than American economic competitiveness. As Well-informed person notes, Thiel has urged the FBI to investigate Google for Chinese government infiltration. Passing the agency’s advice on foreign contacts would align perfectly with your concerns about foreign influence on technology, and until you can shelter full-time in a bunker in New ZealandThe FBI is likely worth cultivating its deep connections to Silicon Valley.
