Max Blumenthal calls Schaffer's post a "joke" and the lawsuits "frivolous"
Max BlumenthalJournalist and editor of The Grayzone, writing signed commentary
In a November 10, 2025 Grayzone article, Max Blumenthal wrote that Patel had activated his legal network to file "frivolous multi-million dollar lawsuits" against influencers who mocked Wilkins as a Mossad honeypot. He described Schaffer's post as "the same joke" others had made, "invoking an unsubstantiated theory," and called it "seemingly humorous."
Responding to
Kyle Seraphin said on his podcast on August 22, 2025 that FBI Director Kash Patel "has had his own little 'honeypot' issue" and that Patel's girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, is "a former Mossad agent in what is like the equivalent of their NSA," according to the transcript quoted in Wilkins's complaint and in the court's order denying his motion to dismiss.
“numerous Twitter/X users had posted an identical photo to make precisely the same joke about Wilkins and Patel, invoking an unsubstantiated theory that had been reverberating across the internet for months.”
Analysis
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
Analysis
About this source
Blumenthal's signed article criticizes the defamation litigation and quotes Schaffer's lawyer. It calls the intelligence theory unsubstantiated. The article spells the lawyer's first name Oneir; his firm and Florida Bar identify him as Onier Llopiz.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Wilkins sued Schaffer on October 28, 2025 over a post pairing her photograph with a thread about female Mossad operatives.
After the quotation
The article quotes Schaffer's lawyer, Onier Llopiz, on the lawsuit.
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. Blumenthal treats Schaffer's post as a joke and calls the theory behind it unsubstantiated. That disputes reading the post as a factual accusation and questions the basis for the proposition without saying it is false, so we used Challenged the characterization. The closest competing label is Denied. It loses because "unsubstantiated" means unsupported, not false. Condemned does not apply: he does not endorse the proposition. Evidence level: his signed article.
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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
Schaffer retracts his post and says Wilkins "is not, and has never been" a foreign intelligence operative
“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.”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
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Max Blumenthal calls Schaffer's post a "joke" and the lawsuits "frivolous"
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/4740-in-a-november-10-2025-grayzone-article-max
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Max Blumenthal calls Schaffer's post a "joke" and the lawsuits "frivolous"". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4740-in-a-november-10-2025-grayzone-article-max