“The CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations.” WikiLeaks — Vault 7

WikiLeaks’ revelations that the CIA was attempting to remotely hack vehicles have reignited a conspiracy theory: Did the Agency assassinate journalist Michael Hastings? Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

Michael Mahon Hastings (January 28, 1980 – June 18, 2013) was an American journalist, author, contributing editor to Rolling Stone and reporter for BuzzFeed.

Hastings rose to prominence with his coverage of the Iraq War for Newsweek in the 2000s. Hastings received the George Polk Award for “The Runaway General” (2010), a Rolling Stone profile of General Stanley McChrystal, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in the Afghanistan war. The article documented the widespread contempt for civilian government officials by the general and his staff and ultimately resulted in McChrystal’s resignation. [Wikipedia]

Hastings died in an automobile crash on June 18 2013 in Los Angeles, California (around 4:25 am). At the time of his death, Hastings was working on a profile of CIA Director John Brennan.

WikiLeaks

Hours after crash, WikiLeaks tweeted:

Last 24 Hours

A few hours prior to his death, Hastings sent an email to a few colleagues and friends, warning that he was onto a “big story”. He also told them that he was under investigation.

“The Feds are interviewing my ‘close friends and associates’. May be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news-gathering practices. I’m onto a big story and need to go off the radar for a bit. All the best, and hope to see you soon. Michael.” [email sent at around 1pm on Monday, June 17]

Conspiracy Theories?

Former U.S. National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism Richard A. Clarke said that what is known about the crash is “consistent with a car cyber attack“.

“There is reason to believe that intelligence agencies for major powers — including the United States — know how to remotely seize control of a car.” “What has been revealed as a result of some research at universities is that it’s relatively easy to hack your way into the control system of a car, and to do such things as cause acceleration when the driver doesn’t want acceleration, to throw on the brakes when the driver doesn’t want the brakes on, to launch an airbag.” “You can do some really highly destructive things now, through hacking a car, and it’s not that hard. So if there were a cyber attack on the car — and I’m not saying there was — I think whoever did it would probably get away with it.”

FBI Files

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller denied that Michael Hastings was investigated by the Bureau:

“At no time was journalist Michael Hastings under investigation by the FBI.”

The FBI file on Michael Hastings were released to the public on September 24 2013 after investigative journalist Jason Leopold and MIT doctoral candidate Ryan Shapiro filed a joint suit in July 2013 against the FBI for ignoring their FOIA requests for the file.

War Machine (2017 Film)

War Machine is a 2017 American satirical war film directed and written by David Michod based on the nonfiction book “The Operators” by Michael Hastings. It is a fictionalized version of the events in the book based on the firing of United States Army General Stanley McChrystal.

The film stars Brad Pitt, Anthony Michael Hall, Anthony Hayes, Topher Grace, Will Poulter, Tilda Swinton and Ben Kingsley. It was released on Netflix.com on May 26, 2017. [Wikipedia]

“War Machine” is directed by David Michod and stars Brad Pitt as a thinly veiled-veiled version of Stanley McChrystal, the gung-ho general who led U.S. forces in Afghanistan until he was fired when a Rolling Stone journalist wrote a revealing article about him and his slightly out-of-control staff. The movie, released by Netflix, is based on the article and book by the late Michael Hastings. What Hastings and the film got precisely right is the impossible strategy behind America’s never-ending ground wars. There is no hero in this movie, and if there’s an anti-hero, it’s the war itself, which is profane, vicious, complex, and a bit naïve. [Intercept]

CIA Hacking Revelations and the Murder of Michael Hastings

On this edition of The Geopolitical Report, we delve into the WikiLeak’s “Vault 7” series of CIA leaks. The latest trove details the agency’s hacking operations compromising iPhone and Android phones, the Windows operating system, and Smart TVs. The disclosure also reveals the CIA’s ability to remotely control car computers, an ability that lends further credence to the assertion the journalist Michael Hastings was assassinated for outing Gen. Stanley McCrystal and for his planned expose on CIA boss John Brennan. We also go into the CIA’s long history of assassination.

Crashes of Convenience: Michael Hastings

Michael Hastings was that rarest of breeds: a mainstream reporter who wasn’t afraid to rail against the system, kick back against the establishment, and bite the hand that feeds him. On the morning of June 18, 2013, he died in a fiery car crash. But now, details are emerging that he was on the verge of breaking an important new story about the CIA, and believed he was being investigated by the FBI. Now even a former counter-terrorism czar is admitting Hastings’ car may have been cyber-hijacked. Join us this week on The Corbett Report as we explore the strange details surrounding the untimely death of Michael Hastings.

REFERENCES

WikiLeaks ‘Vault 7’ dump reignites conspiracy theories surrounding death of Michael Hastings — News.com

Michael Hastings (journalist) — Wikipedia

Vault 7: CIA Hacking Tools Revealed — WikiLeaks

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Remembering Michael Hastings — (January 28, 1980 – June 18, 2013)