Michael Hastings Was Investigating John Brennan's Role in Press Crackdown Before His Death

CIA spokesperson finds the idea that Brennan would try to infringe on people's First Amendment rights "offensive"

Reason

New details on what journalist Michael Hastings was working on before his death this June.

From San Diego 6 News:

This week Elise Jordan, wife of famed journalist Michael Hastings, who recently died under suspicious circumstances, corroborated this reporter's sources that CIA Director, John Brennan was Hastings next exposé project (CNN clip). 

Last month a source provided San Diego 6 News with an alarming email hacked from super secret CIA contractor Stratfor's President Fred Burton. The email (link here) was posted on WikiLeaks and alleged that then Obama counter-terrorism Czar Brennan, was in charge of the government's continued crackdown or witch-hunt on investigative journalists.

After providing the Stratfor email to the CIA for comment, the spymaster's spokesperson responded in lightning speed. Two emails were received; one acknowledging Hastings was working on a CIA story and the other said, "Without commenting on information disseminated by WikiLeaks, any suggestion that Director Brennan has ever attempted to infringe on constitutionally-protected press freedoms is offensive and baseless." 

Disrespectful, slanderous, now "offensive." Government officials need to grow thicker skin, read the First Amendment, and fuck off.

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Comments

[wareagle]

I still find the part about Hasting's car catching fire to be very curious, because real life car crashes very seldom resemble the tv and movie variety.

[PS wanders the Wasteland]

Not to mention the fact Mercedes aren't exactly poorly engineered. Still, there has to be easier ways to off a reporter than hijacking his cars computer and blowing it up, like botched car jacking or something. So I'm going with occam on this so far and assuming it was an accident.

[Pro Libertate]

Maybe it was an assassination attempt that didn't go right?

[PS wanders the Wasteland]

A botched CIA plot to murder a tree.

[neoteny]

there has to be easier ways to off a reporter than hijacking his cars computer and blowing it up

In Stalinist Soviet Russia "car accidents" were much favored to eliminate people who became inconvenient to the powers-to-be. Obviously without the car computer hijacking.

I'm not saying that this case necessarily was an assassination, but considering the CIA connection, the probability that it was isn't asymptotically close to zero.

[PS wanders the Wasteland]

Plus those chuckleheads probably can't wait to try out that new sanction technology as soon as it is viable.

[PapayaSF]

I'm with PS on this: suspicious, but it seems like an unlikely way to off someone.

[Killazontherun]

Occam's Razor does not apply to the world of espionage because the application of the rule itself is second guessed and outfoxed. The heavy handedness of the kill creates conspiracy theories about it and in a society that ridicules conspiracy theories, that creates cover.

[neoteny]

Yup; the denial is plausible exactly because the deed is implausible -- but not impossible, especially in the context.

[Killazontherun]

Also, the intelligence agencies test for sociopathy, not for the purpose of screening out. Some commenters assume the same inhibitions and rationalities that motivate them to keep to the straight and narrow to be universal. That is not the case in the spy world, or even the political.

I've pointed out for years that there are over fifty fusion centers for domestic intelligence purposes created by post 9/11 legislation where each is ran by an independent chief. Fifty potential Ollie North's going off the reservation. That creates high probability in the favor of some major fucked up shit going on.

[paranoid android]

Now, I'm not saying that Hastings was murdered by the CIA, but what I am saying is that apophasis is am awesome rhetorical device

[Tommy_Grand]

"Government officials need to grow thicker skin, read the First Amendment, and fuck off."

That's a bit stronger than "take your jobs plan and shove it." Good thing Ed works for Reason instead of that Chat., Tennessee paper.

[?J?? de ?guila]

This just in?

Rodeo clown Obozo to appoint John Brennan to investigate himself concerning these 'offensive and baseless' charges. Obozo was quoted as saying, 'Make no mistake. The government is not trying to infringe on the speech of whistle-blowing traitors. Never. Ever.'

[setTHEline]

Interesting, but how about looking into these new Benghazi developments?

http://cnsnews.com/news/articl.....enova-says

Is DiGenova like the least credible person on earth, or is there another reason this isn't a BFD??

[VG Zaytsev]

What kind of missiles are we talking about? The article infers that it is some type of shoulder fired missile.

[PapayaSF]

The articles I've seen have been useless or plain wrong (referring to "US missiles"). They are probably ex-Soviet MANPADS (SA-7s) from Libyan stock.

[setTHEline]

My understanding is shoulder-fired SAM's of some variety - apparently they could be effective against a commercial airliner.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

So my question is this: what did Susan Rice get in return for falling on that grenade?

[StacyKay]

He wanted to give her Secretary of State. Wasn't he still bitching about that last week when he complained about how his appointees were being slandered before they even got to the appointment process?

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

The thing is that she was sent out there to lie, and I have to think that someone in the Administration was smart enough to know they would eventually be found out. She was their sacrificial smokescreen.

[setTHEline]

An excellent question, I believe answered by StacyKay. Perhaps an even better question is: what the hell were 400 SAM's doing in Benghazi? Who were those going to and why?

[Ramjet]

Heard about this early this morning. Again, what will it take to bring this ridiculous administration down? I despair.

[setTHEline]

Nothing, Obama breaks the law and nobody bats an eye. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics.....d=19920474

[Fatty Bolger]

He's saying bad things about the Obama administration... so yes. /MSM

As usual, the Brits are doing a better job of covering our national stories than the US papers. It's appalling, really.

Daily Mail - 400 US surface-to-air missiles were 'STOLEN' from Libya during the Benghazi attack and are 'now in the hands of Al Qaeda', claims whistleblower

diGenova said Monday that he knows what that threat may have involved.

The loss of the 400 surface-to-air missiles, he told WMAL's audience, 'is why we shut down the 19 embassies recently.'

'They were afraid that there was going to be a missile attack on one of the embassies. Remember, you can take a shoulder-held missile and shoot it into an embassy. Not just into the sky.'

'That's what this was all about,' he insisted. 'That's why they're so worried. That's why they have lied repeatedly about what happened in Benghazi, because they are now responsible for all of the stepchildren of violence that happens as a result of this. This is a very serious matter.'

[setTHEline]

Agreed. On another note, Obama will have a chance to exercise his "whistleblower protection orders" that he's been using to "prove" that Snowden is a traitor. If I were a gambling man, I'd guess there's are charges against these whistleblowers by the end of the week.

[The Late P Brooks]

Hey look over there! Vladimir Putin is a schoolyard bully.

[Andrew S.]

I'm finding it very difficult not to believe in a conspiracy theory regarding Hastings' death. There's too much that doesn't make sense. I don't like this, because in general I think conspiratorial theories are silly. But this...

[Fist of Etiquette]

You're not paranoid if everyone is out to get you.

[Pro Libertate]

Look, it's nearly impossible to out think a Pak protector like Jack Brennan.

[Mike M.]

Maybe one day we'll find out what Andrew Breitbart was getting ready to expose when was murd... oops, I mean "died".