Schaffer retracts his post and says Wilkins "is not, and has never been" a foreign intelligence operative
Elijah SchafferPolitical commentator and podcast host, on his X account
On September 9, 2026, Elijah Schaffer posted a retraction of his September 2025 post about Wilkins. He wrote that the post "implied she was operating as a foreign intelligence asset," that "it is false to suggest she is a honeypot," and that she "is not, and has never been, a foreign intelligence operative, foreign asset, or honeypot of any kind." He said he had found no evidence of government involvement in her suit and apologized to her. The post followed the dismissal of her suit against him after a settlement whose terms are not public.
Responding to
Wilkins's complaint against Seraphin says she "is not now and never has been an agent for any intelligence agency" and "has never set foot in Israel."
“I apologize for that implication because it is false to suggest she is a honeypot. Alexis Wilkins is not, and has never been, a foreign intelligence operative, foreign asset, or honeypot of any kind. There is no factual basis to suggest otherwise. … I retract my September 2025 post in full. The original post has been deleted.”
Original post
Where this statement fits
Is Alexis Wilkins a foreign 'honeypot' agent, as Kyle Seraphin and other commentators suggested?
Since early 2025, online commentators have suggested that Alexis Wilkins, the country singer engaged to FBI Director Kash Patel, is an Israeli or Mossad "honeypot" sent to compromise him. Podcaster Kyle Seraphin said on August 22, 2025 that Patel's girlfriend is "a former Mossad agent" (he did not name her; a court found the remarks referred to her), Sam Parker raised the idea through questions in a February 2025 X thread, and Elijah Schaffer posted her photo under a thread about female Mossad operatives. Wilkins says she has never been an intelligence agent and has never been to Israel, and she sued all three for defamation. A Florida court let the Schaffer suit proceed, the parties then reported a tentative agreement and jointly dismissed it with prejudice, and on September 9, 2026 Schaffer posted a retraction saying she "is not, and has never been, a foreign intelligence operative"; a Utah court dismissed the Parker suit for lack of jurisdiction; the Seraphin suit is pending after the court denied his motion to dismiss. As of October 5, 2026, we found no evidence offered by anyone that Wilkins has worked for any intelligence service, and no court has ruled at trial on the claim.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Schaffer's public retraction of his September 2025 post, published six days after the court closed Wilkins's suit against him following a settlement whose terms are not public. Kash Patel quote-posted it the same evening without adding words of his own.
Before the quotation
The parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice on August 31, 2026, and the court closed the case on September 3.
After the quotation
Kash Patel quote-posted the retraction the same evening without adding words of his own. Seraphin and Jake Shields also responded to it on X.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the proposition that Alexis Wilkins is, or was, a foreign intelligence agent, specifically an Israeli or Mossad "honeypot" in a relationship with Kash Patel to compromise him. Schaffer states that Wilkins is not and has never been a foreign intelligence operative or honeypot and that there is no factual basis to suggest it, an explicit denial, so we used Denied. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, which we used for his November 2025 video and his lawyers' January 2026 motion. It loses because this post addresses the proposition itself. The post came after a settlement, and we do not know whether it was a term of that settlement. Evidence level: his own post on X.
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More from this case
Read the full caseJake Shields responds to Schaffer's retraction: "I'm glad Elijah cleared that up"
“I'm glad Elijah cleared that up Alexis Wikins is not an Israeli honeypot and the FBI is not funding her lawsuit”Read statement
Seraphin's answer calls his remarks "opinion, satire, or rhetorical hyperbole"
“Deny. Defendant explicitly defined the term “honeypot” differently than the Complaint alleges. … The statements were expressions of opinion, satire, or rhetorical hyperbole, not verifiable false assertions of fact. … Defendant accurately and off-handedly reported third party allegations.”Read statement
Dan Bongino says on his show that Wilkins "was falsely labeled a Mossad spy"
“She was falsely labeled a Mossad spy. Insanity. I don't know what's going on with that.”Read statement
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Schaffer retracts his post and says Wilkins "is not, and has never been" a foreign intelligence operative
- First published
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- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/4724-on-september-9-2026-elijah-schaffer-posted-a
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Schaffer retracts his post and says Wilkins "is not, and has never been" a foreign intelligence operative". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4724-on-september-9-2026-elijah-schaffer-posted-a