Jacob Wohl Found to be Organizer for Smear Plot Against Robert Muller

Last week, a spokesperson for special counsel Robert Muller—who is currently responsible for  leading the investigation for Russian interference in the 2016 election—asked the FBI to investigate claims that women were being offered money to make false accusations about sexual misconduct against Muller.

One person, identifying herself as Parsons, told journalists in an email that she had been offered roughly $20,000 by a man claiming to work for a company named Surefire Intelligence “to make accusations of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment against Robert Mueller.”

It was later confirmed that these attempts at creating false accusations were being circulated by pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl, who not only attempted to fabricate the false information, but also created the website which the requests were distributed from.

Early last Tuesday, Wohl was exited to tease that allegations were coming against Mueller. He claimed: “Several media sources tell me that a scandalous story about Mueller is breaking tomorrow. Should be interesting. Stay tuned!" Not too long after journalists received the email, however, suspicion quickly arose.

As it turns out, the website in charge of paying the women, Surefire Intelligence, was only incorporated in Delaware less than a month ago. Surefire Intelligence described itself as “a private intel agency that designs and executes bespoke solutions for businesses and individuals who face complex business and litigation challenges.” Even more suspiciously, Surefire’s domain records list an email for Jacob Wohl, and the telephone number listed on Surefire’s website referred callers to a number listed in public records as belonging to his mother.

Question: What do you think can be done to combat widespread smear allegations against political individuals while still allowing legitimate ones to be recognized?

Sources:
Washington Post
The Atlantic
NBC News