The FBI Wants To Talk To Maxine Waters' GOP Opponent About This Fake Letter He Shared

After releasing a fraudulent letter that indicated she wanted to resettle tens of thousands of refugees into her Los Angeles district, the FBI wants Maxine Waters' GOP opponent to answer for his actions, according to a report by The Los Angeles Times. In turn, Republican candidate Omar Navarro has agreed to meet with FBI agents on Wednesday to discuss the matter. This meeting will take place eight months after Waters formally asked the FBI and the Capitol Police to look into the fake letter, which appears to be on her House office stationary.

Navarro tweeted the fake letter in December, writing, "According to this document, Maxine Waters wants more terrorists, like the one who bombed NYC, in California’s 43rd District. As Congressman of CA’s 43rd District, I will oppose such policies."

The letter, which he attached in the tweet, looks as if it were written by Waters, and alleges that she was "in communication" with CAIR-LA (a Los-Angeles-based chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations) and Hussam Ayloush (the executive director of CAIR-LA) to relocate Somali refugees in Los Angeles. Despite Waters' confirming that the letter is fraudulent, the tweet is still publicly available on Navarro's account, and continues to be favorited and retweeted by users.

Navarro has since pointed out that he's not the only person who shared the letter online, though he hasn't directly responded to Waters' chief of staff, who labeled the letter "a forgery and a fake." In turn, Navarro has claimed that Waters is trying to create a "false narrative" around him, per The Los Angeles Times.

If Navarro is in fact proven to have forged the letter, it will be a big deal: it's a federal crime to impersonate a federal official and to misuse a federal seal, and whoever made the letter did both of those things. On Monday, however, Navarro told The Los Angeles Times, "I don't know why they are looking into me since I'm not the one who fabricated the letter." Instead, Navarro claims he received the letter from a person whose name he will not disclose.

On Monday, Navarro further asserted his innocence, tweeting, "Let’s get this straight I tweet a letter which says Maxine Waters wants to bring 41,000 Somali refugees. I only tweet according to this document asking a question. Now the FBI is on me for her complaint. She threatens the president and his supporters and no investigation on her."

In a subsequent tweet, Navarro asked for donations to his campaign to help him retain a lawyer and defend himself. Navarro added in another tweet, "I can’t be intimidated. The people will help me fireback at Maxine Waters. Let’s put pressure on her by helping me raise money to defeat her."

This is Navarro's second time running against Waters in California's 43rd District. In the June primary, Navarro received 14 percent of the vote, while Waters received 71 percent, per The New York Times. Waters is currently serving her 14th term as congresswoman.

In Navarro's pinned tweet, he encourages people to stop using Waters for "ratings" and "really put this racist in her place." As for Waters, she has not yet commented on the recent development in the case, and has instead focused her recent Twitter energy on honoring the late Sen. John McCain, who passed away Sunday of brain cancer.