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[...]
"Yeah," BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith confirmed to
Daily Intelligencer. "Before his death, Michael told a number of his
friends and colleagues that he was concerned that he was
under investigation."
But other, less reputable sources have taken the speculation
much further. "Vince Foster-like murder plot emerging in Los Angeles? Did
the Obama administration knock off a star reporter?" asked one blog early
on Wednesday, adding to existing conspiratorial Twitter chatter.
Another wrote,
"Admit it, Michael Hastings’ Death is Weird and Scary." Hours
before revelations about a potential FBI investigation, InfoWars, the Alex
Jones website that serves as a catch-all conspiracy-theory clearing house, mentioned Hastings's
death with an editor's note: "Journalists who mess with government and
military power often die under mysterious circumstances." None had more
than conjecture.
The circumstances are these: "Police said a vehicle was
southbound on Highland about 4:20 a.m. when it lost control south of Melrose
and smashed into a tree," the L.A. Times reported.
Video purports to
show Hastings's Mercedes-Benz running a red light at a high speed minutes
before the crash. "It sounded like a bomb went off in the middle of the
night," a witness told thelocal
news. "I couldn't have written a scene like this for a movie, where
the engine flies from the car." Photos and video from the aftermath show
extreme wreckage, and as of yesterday, the coroner had not officially
identified the body because it was too badly burned.
But an automotive writer also fed the
doubters:
I’m here to state that I’ve seen dozens of cars hit walls
and stuff at high speeds and the number of them that I have observed to eject
their powertrains and immediately catch massive fire is, um, ah, zero.
Modern cars are very good at not catching fire in accidents. The Mercedes-Benz
C-Class, which is an evolutionary design from a company known for sweating the
safety details over and above the Euro NCAP requirements, should be leading the
pack in the not-catching-on-fire category. Nor is the C-Class known for sudden
veering out of control into trees and whatnot.
The crash is under investigation and there will be an
official accident report (a toxicology report could take weeks).
Whatever its findings, they can likely coexist with Hastings's mind-set at the
time and a potential government investigation without representing something
more sinister.
"He was incredibly tense and very worried and was
concerned that the government was looking in on his material," said
Hastings's friend and Current TV host Cenk Uygur. "I don't know what his
state of mind was at 4:30 in the morning, but I do know what his state of mind
was in general, and it was a nervous wreck." But Mother Jones editor
Clara Jeffery put it
plainly: "Ugh, the people posting Vince Foster style comments re
Hastings death do a disservice to his no BS truth telling." Let's wait for
the facts.
Update: The L.A. Times reports that
Hastings, prior to his death, "was researching a story about a privacy
lawsuit brought by the Florida socialite Jill Kelley against the
Department of Defense and the FBI." The paper also notes, "Since
Hastings's death early Tuesday, wild conspiracy theories have bloomed on the
Internet implying that he was murdered by powerful forces wanting to silence
him."
Update II: The LAPD tells
the Times "there appears to be no foul play in the
one-vehicle accident that killed journalist Michael Hastings ... Officials are
trying to determine whether there was a mechanical problem with the car."
His body has been positively identified by the L.A. coroner.
Update III: The FBI released a statement saying,
"At no time was journalist Michael Hastings ever under investigation by
the FBI."
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