On top of being a tech billionaire and prominent Republican donor, Peter Thiel was also an FBI informant, according to three sources who spoke to Insiderfor a bombshell report published Thursday. Thiel became a “confidential human source” in the summer of 2021 to Johnathan Buma, an FBI special agent who investigates political corruption, Insider reported. The FBI was more interested in his intel on “foreign contacts and attempts by foreign governments to penetrate Silicon Valley” than his close ties to U.S. political figures like Donald Trump, the outlet said. One of the sources who revealed Thiel’s informant status to Insider, blogger and longtime Thiel associate Charles Johnson, claimed he was doing so because he “felt betrayed” that the venture capitalist refused to invest in his startups. Johnson, an alt-right troll who also claimed to be an informant, said he was the one who introduced Thiel to Buma. A second source said Thiel’s co-operation was part of an attempt to slowly pull away from Trump, who has attacked the FBI repeatedly. Neither Thiel nor the FBI responded to Insider’s request for comment.
