MAGA Influencers Are Salivating Over Jailing Each Other

Summary

Bulwark Takes – Episode Summary

Episode Title: MAGA Influencers Are Salivating Over Jailing Each Other
Date: April 10, 2026
Host: Sam Stein
Guest: Will Sommer (False Flag newsletter)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into a peculiar but revealing trend within the MAGA/conservative influencer landscape: growing excitement about the idea of ideological rivals being arrested—sometimes on dubious pretenses involving alleged foreign funding during the Iran war debates. Sam Stein and Will Sommer break down the origins of these rumors, the history of foreign payments to conservative pundits, and what the frenzy says about internal rifts on the right. The tone is sharp, bemused, and somewhat incredulous as the hosts dissect recent drama and the broader implications for the conservative movement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. False DOJ Rumors and the MAGA Civil War

Timestamps: 00:30–02:58

• A rumor took hold on right-wing social media that the Department of Justice is investigating conservative influencers for being paid by foreign governments in relation to the Iran War.
• This rumor originated from a single tweet by a shady online persona, “Zero Hour.”
• Many right-wing influencers jumped on the rumor, fantasizing about their rivals being arrested.
  • “All these right wing media people jumped on it... They imagine them in shackles.” — Will Sommer (01:34)
• There’s no actual evidence of such an investigation, and the DOJ hasn’t commented, but Will jokes:
  • “Are you going to arrest cat turd?” (02:12)
• The fervor is notable for being “not about locking up liberals... but their own MAGA influencers.” — Sam Stein (02:20)

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2. Escalating Punishments and Notable Figures

Timestamps: 02:39–04:11

• Some influencers, like Jack Posobiec, aren’t just demanding arrests but call for deportation if someone is paid by a foreign government.
  • “Influencers who take fore[ign money] disclose it should be deported to the country they took the money from.” — Jack Posobiec, paraphrased by Stein (02:58)
• Will Sommer points out the hypocrisy, especially since Posobiec was connected to disseminating Russian hacks in the past.
• A talk radio host preemptively offered to show his finances to “prove” he’s not on the take.
• Despite being based on a false rumor, people are “lining up” to show their innocence or to see rivals punished.

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3. Why The Rumor Sticks: History of Pundit Payola

Timestamps: 04:11–05:29

• The rumors resonate because there’s real history of right-wing influencers taking money to push various agendas, both foreign and domestic.
  • Examples: Soda companies paying to lobby against food stamp restrictions, Laura Loomer suddenly advocating obscure Venezuelan export laws, and pundits like Elijah Schaefer getting interested in Indian/Russian oil regulations.
  • “The reason they know that this is happening is because a lot of them are on the take.” — Will Sommer (04:36)
• Will recounts a case from 15 years ago where conservative bloggers took Malaysian government money to attack an opposition figure.

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4. “Tenet Media”: Russian Influence and Unintentional Irony

Timestamps: 05:29–06:41

• Will and Sam discuss “Tenet Media,” a 2024 operation, exposed as a Russian front. Influencers like Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, and Tim Pool unwittingly received millions.
• The irony: Benny Johnson, who took Russian money, now calls for a crackdown on foreign influence.
  • “Benny Johnson, Mr. Russia Money himself, was saying, oh, I can’t wait for this investigation into foreign influence... He might be able to explain to the FBI how something like this works.” — Will Sommer (06:24)
• Some Tenet Media founders were invited back to the White House (despite being non-citizens), emphasizing the selective concern over such scandals.

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5. DOJ Realities: Selective Enforcement?

Timestamps: 06:41–07:42

• Sam points out the inherent double standard: This administration doesn’t seem committed to enforcing FARA (foreign agent registration) unless it can be used against critics of Trump.
  • “This is not exactly an administration... that gives a [expletive] about FARA registration.” — Sam Stein (07:05)
• If such an investigation happened, it’d likely only target anti-Trump influencers, not those defending MAGA orthodoxy.

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6. Conspiratorial Thinking: Deflecting MAGA Rifts

Timestamps: 07:42–09:17

• Will notes that claims all ideological feuds are due to “foreign funding” are a way to avoid facing internal division.
• Example: Laura Loomer supporters accuse foes like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson of being paid by hostile foreign powers, rather than admitting genuine disagreement.
  • “It sort of prevents you from recognizing that there really is this genuine rift within the MAGA movement.” — Will Sommer (07:42)
• Will also highlights figures like country singer Alexis Wilkins (girlfriend of FBI Director Cash Patel) engaging in their own “sleuthing” on perceived Mossad/Epstein conspiracies.

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7. Eating Their Own: The Conservative Movement’s Internal Chaos

Timestamps: 09:17–10:18

• The spectacle has become one of self-cannibalization; conservative influencers can’t handle criticism from within, and deflect by alleging foreign payoffs.
• “It’s fascinating. They’re just eating their own... They can’t grapple with the substance of the critiques.” — Sam Stein (10:18)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It would be like me saying, I want Ryan Grim arrested because I don’t like his Hasan biker takes. I’m not gonna do that.” — Sam Stein (02:58)
• “It should be a sign of how bad things have gotten... We’ve tried insulting each other on Twitter... now I just need Todd Blanche to take you away in handcuffs.” — Will Sommer (02:39)
• “The reason they know that this is happening is because a lot of them are on the take.” — Will Sommer (04:36)
• “Benny Johnson, Mr. Russia Money himself... might be able to explain to the FBI how this works.” — Will Sommer (06:24)
• “It sort of prevents you from recognizing that there really is this genuine rift within the MAGA movement.” — Will Sommer (07:42)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:30–02:58: Rumor origins and influencers’ glee about possible arrests
• 02:58–04:11: Calls for “poetic justice” and case studies of hypocrisy
• 04:11–06:24: History of paid influence among conservative pundits
• 06:24–07:42: Tenet Media, DOJ double standards, White House connections
• 07:42–09:17: Conspiracies as a defense against internal rifts
• 09:17–10:18: Internal chaos—“eating their own”

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Takeaway

This episode skewers the spectacle of right-wing influencers lobbying for the arrest of their own, ostensibly over foreign funding, while ignoring or erasing the real history of paid influence and the underlying fractures in the MAGA coalition. Through a blend of live fact-checking, historical anecdotes, and sharp banter, Sam Stein and Will Sommer showcase how self-deception and projection are at the heart of this “pundit purge” fantasy. The episode ends with a reminder: the internal discord on the right is very real—the scapegoating and show-trial dreams are a symptom, not a solution.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Well, that's cool.

[A]

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[C]

So what's the problem?

[A]

That is the problem. Nothing in my life goes as smoothly. I'm waiting for the catch.

[C]

Maybe there's no catch.

[A]

That's exactly what a catch would want me to think.

[C]

Wow. You need to relax.

[A]

I need to knock on wood. Do we have wood? Is this table wood?

[C]

I think it's laminate.

[B]

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[A]

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[C]

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[B]

Hey, everyone, it's me, Sam Stein, mang out at the bulk. I'm here with my man Will Summer, who's got another banger false flag newsletter that we got to discuss. It's getting a little old, Will. You write great newsletters. Everyone knows. Then we have to discuss them on YouTube. I'm a little tired of it.

[D]

Hey, I'm just happy to be here.

[B]

Okay. That's a really gracious response. This one is kind of like an encapsulation of a lot of things you've been covering mixed in with a little bit of. Of the war. So I'll give the summary and then you can tell me what's going on. But basically, there's wide rampant suspicion that there's a DOJ investigation into conservative influencers who may be paid by foreign sources to both oppose and or support the Iran war. And all these conservative influencers are salivating over the prospects to that their ideological foes within the conservative movement, not like liberals within the conservative movement, may soon be arrested. Do I have that right?

[D]

That's right. Yeah. And the other thing to note is that this investigation almost certainly does not exist. Basically, this all came from a tweet Wednesday morning from this account named Zero Hour, who is sort of a character I've dealt with for a long time, but it's kind of just a shady character on Twitter. And basically he said, you know, DOJ is investigating everyone. And they go, oh, my gosh. And so all these right wing media people jumped on it. They imagined their foes, whether it be, you know, pro Israel, pro Iran, war against Iran, war against Israel. They imagine them in shackles.

[B]

Has the DOJ said anything? Have they denied that there's a. I mean, I don't believe there's any evidence that there is an investigation. I'm just curious if they've denied it.

[D]

No, they haven't denied it. You know what I should ask them? I should say, you know, are you going to. Are you going to arrest cat turd?

[B]

Is cat turnaround among the targeted? It's just so funny to me that this is what they are like, jazzed about the prospect. Not of, like, liberals getting rc. We're past the point where they want to lock up Hillary Clinton. They now want to see their own MAGA influencers locked up over this war.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, I think it should be a sign of how bad things have gotten in sort of the MAGA civil war over all of these feuds. This idea that, you know, it's gotten to the point where they're like, all right, look, we. We've tried, you know, insulting each other on Twitter. We've tried fighting at the TPUSA convention. Now I'm just gonna need Todd Blanche to take you away in handcuffs.

[B]

Yeah, it'd be like me saying, like, I want Ryan Grimm arrested because I don't like his Hasan biker takes. Like, I'm not gonna do that. I like Ryan Grim. I worked with Ryan Grim. I know it's a sensitive subject here. Jack Posobiak, one of the people who was discussed in your piece, he says influencers who take fore disclose it should be deported to the country they took the money from. Deportations, not just arrests. I should have noted that. Who else do we have yearning for some jail time?

[D]

People love coming up with these, like, the twisted draconian punishment. Right. Like, you know, on the right, like the. We need the poetic justice. And so in this case, yes, yes, you saw Jack Posobic, who, by the way, was very closely involved in sports, spreading the Russian hacks about Emmanuel Macron, I think raising connections about questions about, you know, what his foreign connections are. You know, this is about a decade ago at this point, but he's very excited about it. You know, we saw that there's this one talk radio host who said, well, I. I'll just provide my financials preemptively. You know, I. I just want to show that I'm honest. I'm not being paid by Qatar or Israel. So, I mean, these guys are. They're so excited for what, again, to be clear, is the non existent pundit purge. They're just lining up.

[B]

I mean, you can't escape the sort of context here, which is that the reason that this sticks, this idea that the DOJ may be investigating foreign influence money going to mag influencers is because there's like, a rich history of mag influencers taking money to Post. Right. It wouldn't make sense that this would cause such a stir if not for the fact that it seems believable.

[D]

Yeah. I mean.

[B]

Right.

[D]

The reason they know that this is happening is because a lot of them are on the take. I mean, not always foreign money. I mean, we've seen over and over.

[B]

What are they good examples. Sure.

[D]

So, I mean, soft drink companies paying people to oppose the Maha crackdown on soda being used with food stamps. You know, Laura Loomer's sudden embrace of arcane Venezuelan export law. And kind of just like, you really need to do this. I'm not saying it would only benefit whoever my backer is here. You know, there was a case where everyone got really into Elijah Schaefer and some others got really into the rules around Indian oil refineries and how that interacted with Russian oil. So there are, I mean, all kinds of cases. And look. I mean, looking back further, there was a point where, you know, about 15 years ago, a bunch of conservative bloggers were taking money from the Malaysian government to specifically sort of attack this opposition figure. So, I mean, this is something that recurs over and over.

[B]

You didn't even mention Tenet, which is your baby.

[D]

My favorite story you mentioned.

[B]

You mentioned this. Every time we talk, I try to, like, remember Tenet. Well, hey, you guys.

[D]

You guys think about Tenet a lot. In this case, of course, Tenet Media was a situation, I believe, in 2024, where this YouTube channel that basically had no reason to exist, but had gathered in all of these people like Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, was exposed as a Russian front. It was funneling each of them individually millions of dollars. And so now the irony here is that. And this truly, I couldn't. My jaw dropped when I saw this. Benny Johnson, Mr. Russia Money himself, was saying, oh, I can't wait for this investigation into foreign influence over the Iran war. You know, there's going to be some people in big trouble, you know, and, you know, as we say in the piece, you know, he might be able to explain to the FBI how something

[B]

like this, how it works. Yeah, but Benny said he never knew that it was Russian money, right?

[D]

Yes, that's true. We have to be clear. And admittedly, like, there were some sort of small Personas or fictitious characters created. But, you know, look, I mean, Tenet

[B]

Media, just the tenant media founders were at the White House at the Easter Egg Roll.

[D]

They were at the White House Easter Egg Roll. They're not even American citizens. Yes. The Trump administration, as we talked about here before, has intervened to welcome Tenet's founders back into the United States and back to the Easter egg role. I guess for me, I mean, that also suggests that really this investigation will not be real, because why would, you know, or maybe it is real, and then a year later you get to go hunt for some Easter at the White House.

[B]

It is not real. It's, it's also sort of interesting that, like, who would they investigate? Right? Like, this is not exactly an administration, as you know, in the piece. They don't give a about far registration. They don't, they don't care about fair enforcement. In, in theory, they would dispatch the Justice Department to go after critics of the president on social media. So they would probably, I mean, we'll just plan this out. But if they were dispatched to investigate this stuff, they would investigate one side of the ledger. Who was paying the MAGA influencers who were very critical of Trump, like the Candace Owens and the Megyn Kelly's and the Tucker Carlson's. They wouldn't be paying people who are being supportive of the war. Right. I mean, it's, that's just not how this Justice Department works.

[D]

Right. I mean, it would be very unusual if all of a sudden, you know, the Justice Department was just like, we got to get to the root of all this, you know, Israeli money in American politics. One thing that struck me is a few weeks ago, I remember when Tucker Carlson claimed, well, the CIA was investigating my foreign ties over the war and now they've made a criminal referral to the Justice Department. So one wonders, you know, if he's not just totally making that up, which he could be, you know, I mean, that's apparently a thing that's out there. You know, I think, I guess at its root, perhaps the other appeal of the idea that like all of your ideological foes on the right are foreign funded, that it's astroturfed. It sort of prevents you from recognizing that there really is this genuine rift within the MAGA movement. And so let's say you're a Laura Loomer and you're supportive of Israel and you're looking at someone like Candace Owens or Tucker Carlson, who, despite totally disagreeing with you, are still making a lot of money and getting millions of views. And on one hand you might say, oh my gosh, you know, what is happening to this MAGA movement? Is Donald Trump botching everything? Or you can say, well, that's just all fake Qari money.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, there's two ways to look at it, which is it's trying to delegitimize the person you're arguing with because, of course, you're superior to them, or it's just telling on yourself, like Laura Loomer giving Tucker Carlson, Tucker Tarlson a nickname. I mean, that's just telling on herself. Right? She's got, She's. I mean, I don't know definitively, but it's very. It seems circumstantially like she's on the, on the take for these companies, and she's. She's like, no, I deny it, but she hasn't. I mean, does she deny it or. She's kind of cute with the words.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, she, she's very vague with it, I would say. I mean, and look, I mean, again, like, whether it's foreign or domestic money, you can tell these people just suddenly embrace these causes so passionately, you know. And so, you know, another aspect of this idea that are people in the government or people with ties to the administration interested in this foreign money. Alexis Wilkins, who people may remember for her beautiful singing voice as a country star and also as the girlfriend of,

[B]

I believe it's a sensation, country music

[D]

sensation, as FBI Director Cash Patel, her boyfriend, put it. You know, she has been, you know, even if this DOJ investigation isn't real, we know she's been sleuthing on her own, apparently with the help of chat GPT or something like that, you know, and she was. She got to get to the bottom of, why do so many people on the right not like me? Why do they think I'm a Mossad agent covering up the Epstein case? And, you know, a few weeks ago, she came out with her theories. I don't think there's much to them, but we know that this idea of, you know, this foreign influence is. Is really rife on the right. And everyone's kind of looking around who's getting the bag from Qatar, from Israel, from who knows where.

[B]

Yeah, well, it's fascinating. They're just eating their own. They. I've been so. I've been. You and I have discussed this a couple times. The, the sort of fissures that are breaking out ideologically on the, on the war with a bunch of very big voices coming out critically of Trump. And it's funny to see them, as you point out, not be able to grapple with it on, on, on, on, like the, The. The actual substance of the critiques and having to resort to saying, well, you know, not only is this. Because you're being paid to posit this theory, but you're going to be arrested by the doj and it's going to be dealt with. We don't have to worry about that. All right. Well, Will, thank you for your service as always. Everyone should should read his newsletter, False Flag. Obviously subscribe to that. But also subscribe to the feed where we get to banter about all this great stuff. A programming note for people who love me. And Will, we usually do this Maga Monday thing. It's great. You should check it out. But not this Monday. We're both on break. So we're going to hit you up a week and a half from now for the next Mega Mondays. All right? Take care, buddy.

[D]

See ya.

[A]

I sold my car in Carvana last night.

[B]

Well, that's cool.

[A]

No, you don't understand. It went perfectly. Real offer down to the penny. They're picking it up tomorrow. Nothing went wrong.

[C]

So what's the problem?

[A]

That is the problem. Nothing in my life goes as smoothly. I'm waiting for the catch.

[C]

Maybe there's no catch.

[A]

That's exactly what a catch would want me to think.

[C]

Wow. You need to relax.

[A]

I need a knock on wood. Do we have wood? Is this table wood?

[C]

I think it's laminate.

[A]

Okay. Yeah, that's good. That's close enough.

[C]

Car selling without a catch Sell your car today on Carvana. Pick up fees may apply.