The former CEO of Overstock, Patrick Byrne, went on Fox Business News to claim that the feds told him he should sleep with Maria Butina, because that’s what you do when you meet Russian agents at libertarian conventions in 2015. Matt-a-Harry.
The CEO of internet retailer Overstock resigned Thursday after comments he made recently about the "deep state" and helping the government investigate Russian election interference.
"In July I came forward to a small set of journalists regarding my involvement in certain government matters," Patrick Byrne said in a statement Thursday. "Doing so was not my first choice, but I was reminded of the damage done to our nation for three years and felt my duty as a citizen precluded me from staying silent any longer."
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The company's stock took a dive earlier this month after Byrne came out with a statement about what he referred to as the "deep state" while saying that he assisted efforts to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Byrne also acknowledged that he was romantically involved with Maria Butina, a Russian operative who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for using NRA activism to infiltrate American politics.
The Overstock executive later told The New York Times that he wanted to highlight what he viewed as problems with the way senior law enforcement officials handled the case against Butina, adding that he was still "quite fond" of her.
Butina's lawyer confirmed that she and Byrne had been "romantically involved" and that Byrne had said he was instructed by government officials on how to interact with her.
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The story gets weirder from there. Byrne said he came to have doubts about his “nonstandard” relationship with the FBI and the intelligence community. He told Carter that he believed he “was being used in some sort of soft coup” against Trump. (Butina’s lawyer confirmed the two had a relationship, while the Department of Justice said it could not comment.)
It wasn’t until Byrne appeared on Fox Business Network, about two weeks later, that investors got spooked. Byrne claimed to have turned over evidence of a conspiracy involving Clinton and Trump. “I think we’re about to see the biggest scandal in American history,” Byrne told host David Asman. “Everything you think you know about Russia and Clinton investigations is a lie.... it was all political espionage. I think [Attorney General William Barr] has gotten to the bottom of it.”
“There is a Deep State, like a submarine, lurking just beneath the waves at periscope depth, watching our shipping lanes,” he continued. “And a nuclear icebreaker named the USS Bill Barr has snuck up on them and is about to ram them at midship.”
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So going on the network of Lou Dobbs, among others makes the questions less rational, as Peter Strzok may get a book advance better than James Comey’s.
Then, after receiving a question from Fox Business regular Jonathan Hoenig on his legal troubles, Byrne erupted: “You’re a journalist! You’re supposed to defend the First Amendment!”
“How does it feel to see the stock rally when you step down?” Hoenig asked Byrne of Overstock.
“What’s your question? It seems silly to me,” Byrne replied, after going on a tangent. “I was a tool in a game of political espionage,” Byrne added.
“Who the hell was that!?” he then erupted. “Who was asking that question? What’s the name of that fool? You’re a fool!”
“That was Jonathan Hoenig,” David Asman offered.
Shortly after his Fox Business hit, Byrne made it over to Fox News, where he gave another wild interview to Martha MacCallum.
“I can tell you — Peter Strzok, if you want to see a former director crap his pants, stick a television camera on Peter Strzok, or let’s just say James Comey, and say the name Patrick Byrne. You will see a former director crap his pants,” Byrne told MacCallum.
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