Woman Claimed To Be Russian Agent, Threatened Judge In Trump-DOJ Battle: FBI

A Houston woman is under arrest after allegedly posing as a Russian agent while threatening to kill the federal judge overseeing the records battle between former President Trump and the Department of Justice.

Tiffani Shea Gish left three threatening voicemails on U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s chamber phone, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. Cannon recently ruled in Trump’s favor in determining that a special master must be named to sift through the materials the DOJ seized in its August 8 raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

Trump is “marked for assassination and so are you,” Gish allegedly said on one of messages left September 1. “You’re full of s—, and I’m going to f—ing have you shot myself. I’ve already ordered snipers and a bomb to your f—ing house.

The DOJ has charged a Texas woman, Tiffani Shea Gish with influencing a federal official by threat and interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure after she left a series of threatening voicemails for U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon https://t.co/gZ6DX8BjH4 pic.twitter.com/1JySRhPDpL

— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) September 12, 2022

Gish identified herself as a Russian agent named Evelyn Salt, a character from the 2010 Angelina Jolie movie “Salt,” and said she was “in charge of nuclear” for the government. She also claimed to be a federal agent and “Trump’s hitman” who had a “license to kill,” according to the complaint.

FBI agents interviewed Gish three days later, when she allegedly admitted making the calls from her cellphone. She also confirmed that a Facebook account in which similar threats were made was hers, the complaint said.

Gish, who was charged in federal court in Houston with influencing a federal official by threat and interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure, apparently has a history of bizarre behavior. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray on Friday ordered her detained pending trial, saying she “appears to suffer from severe mental impairments with symptoms including paranoia and delusions.”

Prosecutors said her “past conduct shows delusional conduct where she claimed to be a CIA agent, a Navy SEAL, an Army Ranger, and someone familiar with nuclear weapons or war, all while intermixing threats to public officials such as Former President Donald Trump or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”

The DOJ is challenging Cannon’s ruling, saying appointing a special master could threaten national security. The ruling, handed down September 5, bars the DOJ from using any of the seized materials for its investigation until it has all been screened by the special master, who has not yet been named.

In her decision, Cannon chided the DOJ over persistent leaks about the evidence taken in the raid. In a footnote, Cannon said she had queried the DOJ about the leaks, which started immediately after the raid and included unsubstantiated claims Trump had nuclear secrets and a photo of documents spread out on the floor of Trump’s home.

Just days after Cannon, who Trump appointed in 2020, made her ruling, anonymous DOJ sources leaked that documents seized from Trump’s home included classified material on a foreign government’s military defenses, as well as details on top-secret U.S. operations. The Washington Post cited “officials familiar with the criminal investigation” in the September 6 report.