Blind Item #8 - Reader Blind

There are no accidents in this country that many associate with discipline and things running in order.  The candidate who has passed the handpicked successor of the long time retiring leader in recent elections has made a deal with the country's internal power structure. For many years they have been blackmailed by a shadowy group of criminal hackers.  What the hackers have is audio proof that a national from the country, an intelligence operative, whose name has been invoked in the past by conspiracy theorists was involved in one of the worst attacks on civilians in another country's history.  The popular narrative is that only two people were involved in the attack - One is already dead and another is in prison.  The dead guy was being set-up in a sting that involved his own country's law enforcement and an undercover operative from the country having an election now.  The operative actually helped suggest the attack and others were involved in the planning the idea being to arrest the dead guy and the prison guy before it happened and and it would be a big public success for law enforcement. However, something went wrong and the attack actually happened.  The national from the other country escaped back to that country and was debriefed by his handlers. A tape of the debriefing session is what the hackers have.  Whereas past leaders in the country have been very careful in trying to end this matter, the new candidate has pledged privately to aggressively find and if necessary terminate the blackmailers which appeals to the powers that be.