Investigative reporter John Solomon is well known for his news-breaking articles, including revealing the FISA abuse scandal and exposing the Bidens’ connections to Ukraine. He has been an executive and editor-in-chief at The Washington Times and editorialist and executive vice president of digital video for The Hill. So it was a bit disturbing to hear that his car was broken into and his laptop stolen recently. And not by some cheap local hoods.

RealClearInvestigations broke the story a few days ago, obtaining police reports. The break-in happened near the White House, in a high-security area, where street crime is almost unheard of. The incident took place during the early evening of January 20, right before the Senate impeachment trial started. There were no signs of forced entry. Authorities suspect the thief used an electronic door jamming device to open the lock.

Solomon said his laptop was in his briefcase and hidden under belongings. Law enforcement told him they caught a male suspect on video. The entire incident took only 17 seconds.

Nothing Else Was Stolen From His Car

What makes the event seem suspicious is nothing else was stolen from the car, including money Solomon had for the Metro. The laptop was found about a block away the next day, in a dark area where there were no security cameras.

Solomon says he is working with computer forensics experts to determine whether information was accessed on his laptop. They found the thief tried to access the laptop twice and was unable to due to all the security he had on it.

He doesn’t know whether it was someone targeting him politically or randomly. He said in a podcast the evidence leans both ways (about 6:40 into the podcast).

“It’s a pretty professional job, but it’s probably just a coincidence,” the ever cautious reporter told RealClearInvestigations. “It was probably just a street criminal searching for pass codes. Or it could be someone searching for my Ukraine stuff. We don’t know at this point.”

Not the First Time he Has Been Targeted

Solomon has been targeted by the left previously. In December, House impeachment manager Adam Schiff released a report that published Solomon’s phone records. He cited Solomon at least 35 times in his impeachment report. He claimed Solomon reported “conspiracy theories” for The Hill about Ukrainian interference in the U.S. presidential election and Joe Biden’s attempts to get a Ukrainian prosecutor fired for investigating his son Hunter. Schiff believes Solomon’s reporting influenced President Trump.

Solomon suspects Schiff singled him out because of reporting he’d done on Schiff. He told Fox News Business anchor Lou Dobbs, “I’m the only [reporter] who ends up having his records released.”

“It makes me wonder whether it’s a political payback, because a few months ago, I wrote a story exposing the fact that Chairman Schiff had met with Glenn Simpson at the sidelines of the Aspen Institute at a time when he shouldn’t have been having contact with Glenn Simpson … it feels like a political payback.”

Simpson’s firm Fusion GPS was hired by the Hillary Clinton campaign to dig up dirt on the Trump campaign.

Additionally, RealClearInvestigations reports that then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch attempted to have Solomon monitored in early 2019.

Where is the Outcry?

Is it a stretch to think Solomon’s enemies on the left could go from spying on him to breaking into his car and stealing his laptop? Perhaps. But look what has happened in the case of fellow investigative reporter Sharyl Atkisson. She has long suspected the Obama administration was spying on her due to her exposés. She reported hacks into her computers and phone. Technical analysis indicated it was the work of a government agency. (She was investigating the Fast & Furious scandal at the time.)
Now  a former Obama administration employee has come forward. He told her that he was involved in the spying. And she was a target. If so, that was criminal. Stealing a laptop out of a car isn’t so much different. Especially when that investigative reporter is digging into a scandal tied to that same administration.

Time will tell who’s behind the theft of John Solomon’s laptop. But there’s a question we can ask now: Where’s the outcry from the news media? Where’s the concern that a journalist may have been targeted due to his current investigations into Biden Ukraine scandal. 

Few articles have appeared about this incident, despite Solomon’s prominence and suspicious circumstance. When Trump merely calls CNN’s Jim Acosta a name? Coverage ensues nonstop about this “assault on the press.” Free speech is under attack. But when actual criminal acts occur seemingly aimed at conservative journalists? All we hear is crickets.  

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