By Debbie Schlussel

Earlier today, I told you that I suspected that man behind the movie used as an excuse for Muslim violence and murder against Americans in Libya and Egypt was a fake and an agent provocateur. And now there is more and more evidence that I was right. This alleged “Israeli Jew”–who at the same time is also allegedly a “Coptic Christian”–was a fake, a liar, and probably a plant designed to spur some predictable Muslim violence against America (violence that happens on the part of Muslims every single day without an alleged fake movie plot). And, along with that, I felt the plot was meant to spur anti-Semitism and discredit those of us with legitimate concerns about the Islamic threat. And that appears to be exactly what is going on here. The question is, who is really behind this movie? I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but as I said earlier today, I wouldn’t be surprised if Muslim money was behind this to discredit Americans, Jews, and Christians in one fell swoop or to unite people against Jews or those who expose the real Islamic threat to America. Could it be Iran? Ya never know. I mean, this is happening just as all of the Iran chatter was coming to a boil. And, don’t forget, Iran’s plot to murder the Saudi Ambassador and other officials at a Washington restaurant. I don’t put anything past the Iranian Revolutionary Guard or any other Muslim group.

This morning, a well-known investigative reporter for a major national news media outlet called me to ask if I know of Sam Bacile or if any of my friends in the pro-Israel or Jewish communities know of him. He’s the guy the Wall Street Journal claims made the movie. The Journal claimed it talked to Bacile, that he’s an Israeli, and that 100 Jews bankrolled his “The Innocence of Muslims” flick, to the tune of $5 million. I speak Hebrew, have lots of Israeli family, and my first impression was that Bacile is not an Israeli last name and that only a moron–or, more likely, a Jew-hater seeking to incite anti-Semitism–would say, “Hey, 100 Jews just gave me $5 mill to attack Islam.” (And what he really meant was, “Hey, two American Embassies were attacked by Muslims and four Americans were murdered. And, oh, did I mention that 100 American Jews paid for that?) Also, I’d seen the trailer, and as a movie critic, I can tell you that I’ve seen several movies made for less than $100,000, all of which looked far better. There was no way this was a $5 million flick. I told the big-name reporter that I felt the whole thing was some sort of conspiracy by plants because, as I told him, Terry Jones is connected with it, and the guy can’t articulate the most basic problems or negatives with Islam. And I know he’s a fake and a con artist.

And now it looks like the whole story is collapsing and the scam is exactly as I thought. I despise Jeffrey Goldberg of the far-left Atlantic. Both he and his mag have repeatedly attacked me for getting things right, including on Lara Logan’s rape at the hands of her favorite Muslim “democrats.” But here’s what he reports, which shows my instincts were spot on:

As part of my search for more information about Sam Bacile, the alleged producer of the now-infamous anti-Muhammad film trailer “The Innocence of Muslims,” I just called a man named Steve Klein — a self-described militant Christian activist in Riverside, California (whose actual business, he said, is in selling “hard-to-place home insurance”), who has been described in multiple media accounts as a consultant to the film.

Klein told me that Bacile, the producer of the film, is not Israeli, and most likely not Jewish, as has been reported, and that the name is, in fact, a pseudonym. He said he did not know “Bacile”‘s real name. He said Bacile contacted him because he leads anti-Islam protests outside of mosques and schools, and because, he said, he is a Vietnam veteran and an expert on uncovering al Qaeda cells in California. “After 9/11 I went out to look for terror cells in California and found them, piece of cake. Sam found out about me. The Middle East Christian and Jewish communities trust me.”

He said the man who identified himself as Bacile asked him to help make the anti-Muhammad film. When I asked him to describe Bacile, he said: “I don’t know that much about him. I met him, I spoke to him for an hour. He’s not Israeli, no. I can tell you this for sure, the State of Israel is not involved, Terry Jones (the radical Christian Quran-burning pastor) is not involved. His name is a pseudonym. All these Middle Eastern folks I work with have pseudonyms. I doubt he’s Jewish. I would suspect this is a disinformation campaign.”

I asked him who he thought Sam Bacile was. He said that there are about 15 people associated with the making of the film, “Nobody is anything but an active American citizen. They’re from Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, they’re some that are from Egypt. Some are Copts but the vast majority are Evangelical.”

Yeah, right. Um, if I were a Muslim agent or operative from any of these countries, I could easily pose as an Evanglical or a convert to Christianity. And maybe that’s what “Sam Bacile,” the fake “Israeli Jew” did. Also, it’s pretty easy to find some nut who thinks he’s smoked out Al-Qaeda in California and approach him, convincing him you’re making a movie against Islam and you need his help. This Klein dude seems quite easily convinced because he wants to believe. Then, once I made my movie trailer, I could tell a major newspaper, “hey, the American Jews financed it!” Then, Jews and Americans would be blamed for my anti-Islam stuff, and–presto!–another excuse for the usual Muslim mob violence that never needs excuses, and now I have Jews and Americans as scapegoats. Oh, and Israel, too, since I threw in that “I’m an Israeli.” It’s a pretty clever plot, assuming a lot of people are gullible and easily manipulated. And they are.

The whole story never smelled right. I mean, as I pointed out earlier today, the movie isn’t even out, just a trailer, obscurely hidden on YouTube. How did some Egyptian commentators suddenly discover it? By coincidence? I don’t buy it. And we don’t even know if there is actually a movie. There may not be. All I saw was a trailer, since made “private” and not viewable by me anymore, on YouTube. Maybe that’s all there is.

The fish is rotten here. And very stinky.

“Sam Bacile” is either an agent provocateur or a con artist. Or both. The question is: who paid him to lie and claim 100 Jews gave him $5 million to make an amateurish anti-Islam trailer? And who shared the whole thing with an Egyptian TV commentator so that the whole thing would come to a head in a clearly coordinated attack on U.S. Embassies in Egypt and Libya on the 11th anniversary of 9/11?

If you think I’ve watched too many movies and terrorist TV shows, think again. It’s not so far-fetched–what I think is going on here.

Think about it: Four U.S. officials, including a U.S. Ambassador, were murdered because of it.