According to a US Department of Justice Inspector General report released today, an investigation "was not able to substantiate the allegations that [Sharyl] Attkisson's computers were subject to remote intrusion by the FBI, other government personnel, or otherwise." The report was introduced into the Senate record at the confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch.
Attkisson, who has written a book about her experiences trying to cover the Obama White House which includes the allegation of hacking, has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, and the Postmaster General for the alleged hacking of her home and work computers. Today, Attkisson testified at Lynch's confirmation hearing.
The report from the DoJ's Office of the Inspector General casts a different light on Attkisson's allegations:
The OIG found after inspecting Attkisson's personal computer that the episode she recorded video of—in which the contents of a Word document were being deleted off her screen—was caused by a stuck backspace key. And examination of Attkisson's iMac found that file metadata for the computer's logs had been altered by whoever inspected it. "The OIG’s forensic examination further found what appeared to be searches and queries performed by an examiner with knowledge of computer logs," the report noted.
"However, it appeared that the searches and queries were conducted while the computer was in operation and without write protecting the drive, which altered file information. This method of forensic examination is not forensically sound nor is it in accordance with best practices." And when the OIG asked for a copy of the report from the technician who did the examination, Attkisson said, "My attorney says our material isn't yet in a form that's ready to share."
CBS would not make Attkisson's work laptop available to the OIG for inspection, though it had issued a statement saying that her computer had been compromised. But CBS told the OIG that it hadn't hired anyone to perform a forensic test on her iMac, counter to Attkisson's claim.
Attkisson reported to the OIG that a “suspicious” cable was attached to her Internet Service Provider’s connection box installed on her house. She opined to the OIG that perhaps this cable was being used to “tap” her house. Further investigation by the OIG revealed that the cable was a common cable used by the provider and could not be used to monitor or otherwise affect the phone or internet service at her residence.
The IP addresses that Attkisson claimed indicated a government intrusion were, in fact, associated with "common, non-suspicious sources such as Internet cookies, Google searches, and web access to the [redacted] shipping web site." The redacted element may be the US Postal Service, which Attkissson has claimed in a legal filing to have been the source of the intrusion onto her computer.
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