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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMarcy Wheeler (emptywheel):"If something happens to me ...everyone will now know why and who did it"
PUTTING A FACE (MINE) TO THE RISKS POSED BY GOP GAMES ON MUELLER INVESTIGATIONJuly 3, 2018/42 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe /by emptywheel
Id like to put a human face my own to the risk posed by GOP gamesmanship on the Mueller investigation.
Sometime last year, I went to the FBI and provided information on a person whom I had come to believe had played a significant role in the Russian election attack on the US. Since that time, a number of public events have made it clear I was correct.
I never in my life imagined I would share information with the FBI, especially not on someone I had a journalistic relationship with. I did so for many reasons. Some, but not all, of the reasons are:
I believed he was doing serious harm to innocent people
I believed (others agreed) that reporting the story at that time would risk doing far more harm than good
I had concrete evidence he was lying to me and others, including but not limited to other journalists
I had reason to believe he was testing ways to tamper with my website
I believed that if the FBI otherwise came to understand what kind of information I had, their likely investigative steps would pose a risk to the privacy of my readers
To protect the investigation, I will not disclose this persons true identity or the identity and/or role I believe he played in the attack. Nor will I disclose when I went to the FBI. I did so on my own, without subpoena; I did that in an effort to protect people who have spoken to me in confidence and other journalists. Largely because this effort involved a number of last minute trips to other cities, I spent around $6K of my own money traveling to meet with lawyers and for the meeting with the FBI.
I always planned to disclose this when this persons role was publicly revealed. But Im doing so now for two reasons. First, I think the public deserves to see the text he sent me at 3:15 PM on November 9, 2016.
.............
Im making this public now because a David Ignatius report Thursday maps out an imminent deal with Russia and Israel that sounds like what was described to me within hours of the election. This deal appears to be the culmination of an effort that those involved in the Russian attack worked to implement within hours after the election.
The other reason Im disclosing this now is to put a human face to the danger in which the House Republicans are putting other people who, like me, provided information about the Russian attack on the US to the government.
Several times since I first considered sharing information with the FBI, Ive asked my attorney to contact the FBI to tell them of what I perceived to be a real threat that arose from sharing that information. One of those times, I let law enforcement officers enter my house without a warrant, without me being present.
My risk isnt going to go away indeed, going public like this will surely exacerbate it. Thats to be expected, given the players involved.
But Im a public figure. If something happens to me if someone releases stolen information about me or knocks me off tomorrow everyone will now know why and who likely did it. That affords me a small bit of protection. There are undoubtedly numerous other witnesses who have taken similar risks to share information with the government who arent public figures.
...........
MUCH MORE:
Link to tweet
https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/07/03/putting-a-face-mine-to-the-risks-posed-by-gop-games-on-mueller-investigation/
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)"I believed (others agreed) that reporting the story at that time would risk doing far more harm than good "
There is literally nothing of value here. They seem desperate to keep it that way.
Maraya1969
(22,441 posts)harm?
pnwmom
(108,925 posts)of the thing journalists do every day, or the kind of "reporting" that people do to the FBI.
I assumed she meant that she hadn't made a public report of this because it would place people at risk.
enough
(13,237 posts)Shes explaining why she went to the FBI with the information instead of reporting it out publicly.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)Nothing has been told.
enough
(13,237 posts)in bad faith about it, or that its stupid, or obvious, or false, or fake, or bad form, or bad taste, or less good than it should be, or she should have kept her mouth shut, or what? I dont doubt that you have good and interesting reasons for disliking this. It would be interesting to know what they are.
Mc Mike
(9,107 posts)'protected source' status. A fake source, a bad guy masquerading as a source.
She was right, and I hope she stays safe.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)a continuance in Flynn Sentencing?
This is getting damn real,Marcy needs someone to watch her back.
Guy Whitey Corngood
(26,483 posts)boston bean
(36,186 posts)Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)republicans are going to let their russian payola pimps go ahead with this attack on America.
This link is from CNN in February, but the evil attack-on-America shit has only gotten deeper and stinkier since then. Republicans are turning their backs on the USA, and letting russia have its way.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/politics/intelligence-chiefs-russia-2018-elections-target/index.html
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Isn't Wheeler being a little overly dramatic here? Or is my reflexive blind hatred towards all things associated with Greenwald starting to creep over the borderline?
I will say that out of all the prominent former"Anybody but Hillary" useful idiots, Wheeler's conversion strikes me as the most genuine...