In the conference room of a Holiday Inn just outside Washington, D.C., Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, GOP operatives of a sort, gathered reporters for their unveiling of a spectacular and unsubstantiated claim: that Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor appointed to investigate possible links between the Trump administration and figures tied to the Russian Federation’s interference in the 2016 election, was a sexual predator (a claim that not even Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani believes).

The claims, while flimsy at best, were used to allege a double-standard between their client and Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party when they were in high school, in order to prove that mainstream press is “doing the bidding” of Mueller.

Wohl is a 20-year-old disgraced former hedge fund manager who earned a lifetime ban on futures trading and has since turned himself into a Trump-supporting conspiracy theorist online. Wohl emerged from pro-Trump conspiracy circles online to join Burkman, a longtime conservative con-man with a show on Newsmax TV, to put forward claims to the press that Mueller “brutally raped” a woman in New York City in 2010. The claims were published by The Gateway Pundit, a right-wing clickbait website with a large online presence, where Wohl was cited as a contributor as recently as six days ago.

Mueller has referred the apparent smear scheme to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. When Wohl and Burkman were asked by someone who did not identify themselves at the back of the room whether they were ready to go to prison, the pair responded, “No.”

Today, after a disastrous press conference, during which Burkman’s pants fly was unzipped, The Gateway Pundit announced it had suspended Wohl as a contributor.

The conference began with Wohl and Burkman distributing two pieces of literature to reporters: a list of accusations that Carolyne Cass, an accuser whom Wohl said he represented at his freshly formed investigative firm, Surefire Intelligence, purportedly made against Mueller, and a copy of an FBI press release dated August 6, 2010, stating that Mueller had addressed a cybersecurity conference that took place in New York City from August 2 to August 5, 2010. The incident involving Mueller is alleged to have taken place “on or about August 2, 2010,” according to documents provided to press by Burkman and Wohl. Mueller spoke at the conference on August 5, 2010. The Washington Post reported that Mueller had served jury duty on August 2, 2010.

The credibility of Surefire Intelligence utterly collapsed under the scrutiny of the press this week. Reporters found that the firm listed several fake employee profiles and that the phone number for the firm directed to a voicemail inbox belonging to Wohl’s mother. Wohl lied to reporters earlier this week, saying that he wasn’t affiliated with Surefire Intelligence, but confirmed his ownership of the company at today’s press junket.

Wohl’s operation faced further scrutiny at the press event, where reporters pointed out that the spelling of Cass’ name in the “Confidential Raw Intelligence Document” given to reporters did not match the signature provided at the end of the document. Burkman dismissed the discrepancies as a “typo” on his part, although the document displayed Surefire Intelligence headers, which suggested that Wohl authored the document.

Mueller’s accuser was reportedly going to attend the conference but Burkman and Wohl said she left the area before the press conference out of fear for her life. A photo Wohl provided to Gateway Pundit as proof that Cass had traveled with him to Washington before leaving suddenly to return home was quickly called into question by internet sleuths who matched the ceiling in the photo to a terminal in the Los Angeles International Airport.

Promises of an in-person appearance by a witness who fails to appear are becoming a hallmark of Burkman’s events. Earlier this year, Burkman hosted a press conference at the same North Virginia hotel where he promised he would prove that government agents assassinated slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. At that event, Burkman instead provided reporters with an anonymous caller put on speakerphone who gave a laughably flimsy testimony.

Burkman said it was “tragic” that people had accused him or Wohl of paying accusers to come forward with claims about Mueller, stories that were reported based on emails that several journalists received from a woman who claimed to have been offered money to make false statements against Mueller. Wohl also aired his grievances against media and online users who edited photos to depict him in a “corn costume,” playing on a popular internet joke about people who are embarrassed online.

Wohl claimed that Cass contacted him after she had seen Mueller on a news report on September 15, which he said was the first time she had heard of Mueller in her life. He added that his “default position is not to believe” women who make sexual assault allegations but that he had vetted Cass thoroughly. When pressed, he would not provide specifics of his vetting process or offer reporters corroborating information to independently verify the account.

Burkman spoke to Wohl’s credibility to conduct an investigation that could credibly verify Cass’ claims, referring to Wohl as “a child prodigy who has eclipsed Mozart.”

“He can’t even open an E-Trade account,” someone yelled, referring to Wohl’s ban from futures trading.

Outside, in the hotel parking lot, a large, inflatable rat depicting President Donald Trump was fastened to the back of a black 1970 Chevrolet pickup truck. Wohl alleged that the inflatable rat was “Antifa,” but Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated on Twitter) took responsibility for the display before the press conference began.

“The rat is perfect here because it adds to the clown show,” Taylor told the assembled press.

On Twitter, Wohl also alleged that a tourism-style motorcoach parked on the street outside the hotel had carried a “Bussed in MOB” for the press conference. The bus left approximately 10 minutes before the press conference began and displayed no visible indication that it was on site for the event. Attendance numbers in the conference room did not indicate that the bus had carried any opponents of Wohl and Burkman.

In 2007, Burkman solicited Google to remove from search results articles carrying allegations that he solicited a young woman for sex .