Michael Hastings, the journalist best known for the article that led to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s resignation, sent, in the hours before his fiery car crash, a panicky email that the FBI was investigating him.
Hastings, 33, who wrote for BuzzFeed, was killed Tuesday when the car he was driving through Los Angeles crossed a median and smashed into a tree, exploding in flames. A day earlier, he sent an email to his colleagues saying that agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations had been interviewing his friends and that he was going to go dark for a bit. He also indicated he was in pursuit of a big story, Slate reported.
The content of the email, Slate reported: “Hey … the feds are interviewing my ’close friends and associates.’ Perhaps if the authorities arrive ’buzzFeed GQ’ er HQ, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news-gathering practices or related journalism issues. Also: I’m onto a big story, and need to go off the radar for a bit.”
A friend found the email alarming and gave a copy to KTLA.
“It alarmed me very much,” said Staff Sgt. Joseph Biggs, who said he knew Hastings from Afghanistan, in Salon. “It doesn’t seem like him. I don’t know, I just had this gut feeling and it just really bothered me.”
The FBI, in a statement, said agents had not been investigating Hastings.
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“At no time was journalist Michael Hastings ever under investigation by the FBI,” the statement read, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles police, meanwhile, said foul play was not suspected in the car wreck that killed Hastings, the L.A. Times reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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