Some weird stuff has been going down lately on one of the FBI’s Twitter accounts, the @FBIRecordsVault. And the bureau appears to be as mystified as anyone about who the hell is posting links and is — either hilariously or frighteningly — now investigating itself to find the culprit.
Everything started to go awry after the year-dormant account in question mysteriously tweeted on Saturday. This link goes to a set of documents that touts Donald Trump’s father, Fred (the guy who wouldn’t rent apartments to minorities), as a “philanthropist.”
Fred C. Trump: Fred C. Trump (1905-1999) was a real estate developer and philanthropist. This release consists of… https://t.co/21KgtPpmzk
— FBI Records Vault (@FBIRecordsVault) October 30, 2016
Then on Tuesday, the account tweeted a link to a file release that involved Bill Clinton’s 2001 pardon of Marc Rich (the financier who was indicted for tax evasion and racketeering).
William J. Clinton Foundation: This initial release consists of material from the FBI's files related to the Will… https://t.co/Y4nz3aRSmG
— FBI Records Vault (@FBIRecordsVault) November 1, 2016
The FBI had initially reacted to these odd tweets about decades-old documents by saying they were related to a Freedom of Information Act request, but that excuse doesn’t go too far. FOI requests are commonly granted, and this Twitter account hasn’t tweeted such releases for a full year. Only now — right before the election — is the FBI potentially violating the Hatch Act by tweeting out positive information about the Republican nominee’s family and doing otherwise on the Clinton side.
Think Progress reports that the bureau will now conduct an internal probe to find out what’s going on:
Candice Will, Assistant Director for the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility, said she was referring the matter to the FBI’s Inspection Division for an “investigation.” Upon completion of the investigation, the findings will be referred back to the the Office of Professional Responsibility for “adjudication.”
None of this inspires confidence after news that the FBI was also at odds over Clinton-related emails. Some agents withheld information from Director James Comey, who later ended up launching a new probe without a warrant. Rudy Giuliani also revealed that bureaucratic infighting went down over the private server issue. Now, the FBI looks to be a disorganized mess when it comes to Twitter. What a cluster.
(Via Think Progress & Engadget)
