Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota via Wikimedia Commons

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A man who went missing for year after turning over bank documents to federal prosecutors investigating President Donald Trump was found dead in a Los Angeles high school.

“A cleaning crew found the body of Val Broeksmit, the adopted son of the late Deutsche Bank executive William Broeksmit, on Monday morning, according to CBS News. The 45-year-old was declared dead around 7 a.m. on the Woodrow Wilson High School campus, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner. An autopsy is underway to determine the cause of death,” The Washington Examiner reports.

“Broeksmit, the son of Deutsche Bank executive Bill Broeksmit, handed off a trove of confidential documents to federal authorities who were investigating the troubled financial institution, according to a 2019 profile in the New York Times.” Yahoo News reported.

“The high school’s police said they have no video showing Broeksmit arriving on campus and are unsure how long he was there,” the Examiner notes.

Broeksmit, who referred to himself as “a comically terrible spy,” found the files in his late father’s papers and became convinced he had stumbled upon an international scandal.

“Valentin Broeksmit went on to share his father’s files with numerous journalists and government investigators, including a trip to an FBI office in Los Angeles, the newspaper reported,” Yahoo News reports.

Congressional investigators subpoenaed him several times for his information while trying to find dirt on Trump and The New York Times gave him a glitzy profile calling him a “whistleblower,” complete with glamorous photos.

Most, however, weren’t convinced by Broeksmit’s theories.  Prosecutors did not bring charges and even reporters were not interested.  

Reporters with whom Broeksmit communicated noted he often stretched the truth, with the Times’ David Enrich recalling his “far-fetched theories.”

“It is very sad.  I don’t suspect foul play. Val struggled with drugs on and off,” Forensic News Network journalist Scott Stedman, who spoke with Broeksmit several times, posted to Twitter.

“Val’s father took his own life in 2014 and it consumed Val in recent years. To see his life end so short is incredibly depressing,” he added.

Broeksmit appears to been in hiding since April 2021.  His Twitter account, @BikiniRobotArmy, remained active and in communication, but family and friends never saw him.

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com


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Michael Brigham has written for American Action News since the summer of 2019. His areas of expertise include foreign affairs, government, and politics, but regardless of the subject matter, he has a nose and an insatiable appetite for news. In his free time, he enjoys reading nonfiction, watching a mix of comedies and true crime documentaries, and spending time away from the swamp hiking in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

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