The Automotive Engineer Who Took Apart a Bogus KGB Intelligence Dossier |
Giuseppe Bianchin, as best as I can tell, is, in fact, an actual person.
This isn’t a trivial matter: Bianchin is the unlikely author of what may be the most peculiar forensic typographical investigation in Canadian history.
In September 2025, Chris Alexander—formerly Stephen Harper’s immigration minister—told The Walrus that he thought “Giuseppe Bianchin” was a fiction, and that his investigation was equally fraudulent.
The magazine had contacted Alexander while fact-checking my article concerning his accusation that veteran defence reporter David Pugliese was a Russian intelligence asset. I reported that Alexander’s allegations about Pugliese, made on October 24, 2024, to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, were false and defamatory, and appeared to be based on forged documents.
He has not repeated this statement outside of parliamentary privilege, nor has anything come of his extraordinary claims in the year that’s passed since.
Bianchin, an Italian-born engineer who now lives and works in the United States, took it upon himself to investigate Alexander’s claims. He published his 79-page report in July 2025. It is not a peer-reviewed academic article, nor does it claim to be, but it is thorough and comprehensive. Bianchin sought out leading forensic analysts and experts in the field of typography.
The conclusion of Bianchin’s report—and of the experts he consulted—is unambiguous: the documents Alexander presented to the parliamentary committee are forgeries.
How Bianchin fell down this particular rabbit hole is a story in its own right, as it provides additional detail that both buttresses his conclusions and helps explain how Alexander’s claims could ever have been taken seriously in the first place.
And now Bianchin is back in the news. It has emerged that the charge against Canadian military intelligence officer Matthew Robar for allegedly leaking secrets to Ukraine grew out of a 2023 investigation into claims that Pugliese was a Russian spy—claims based on the very dossier Bianchin has debunked.
That makes this a useful moment to publish a transcript of my September 24, 2025 call with Bianchin. We spoke for about forty-five minutes over Zoom. What’s here has been edited for length and clarity.
Perhaps we can start off with some biographical information. Tell me a little about who you are and where you live.
I live in Michigan and I am an automotive engineer. Specifically, I am an interior seat engineer. I came from Italy in 2009 and I’ve been here for the last sixteen years.
Where in Italy are you from?
Venice.
How did you find out about the situation with David Pugliese?
As I live about an hour from the border with Canada, I’ve visited the country regularly. Not only Windsor or Sarnia, but all the way to Hamilton, to Kingston, even to Halifax. So my interest in keeping up to date with what happens in Canada comes naturally.
I was following a Twitter account, Chuck Pfarrer, who analyzes the conflict in Ukraine. On the day that Chris Alexander was at the hearing, Pfarrer was........