The Blubber

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant, per BI.

Business Insider, a major U.S. business publication and subsidiary of the German publisher Axel Springer SE, has reported that Peter Thiel, a U.S. billionaire, venture capitalist, and co-founder of PayPal, may have been an FBI informant. According to the report, Thiel began providing information as a "confidential human source" (CHS) for an FBI agent named Johnathan Buma in the summer of 2021. Buma specializes in investigating political corruption and foreign-influence campaigns.

The term CHS signifies a long-standing relationship with the FBI, and individuals granted CHS status are those who can provide valuable information on a recurring basis, according to FBI policy. Business Insider's sources, including far-right political figure Charles Johnson and several anonymous individuals, confirmed that the FBI had formally registered Thiel as an informant.

In his role as a CHS, Thiel was assigned a code name and an internal serial number to track his reporting, which was reviewed and validated by his case agents and colleagues. Thiel's information focused on foreign contacts and Silicon Valley-related matters, possibly including foreign influence operations within the tech industry, rather than his domestic political connections.

One of the sources suggested that Thiel's collaboration with the FBI should be viewed as part of his gradual distancing from former U.S. President Donald Trump and the broader MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement. This move aligns with Thiel's criticism of the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies, which have faced strong opposition from the MAGA movement.