Michael Hastings uncovered the early build‑out of U.S. metadata surveillance and classified intelligence operations by showing how NSA and allied agencies harvested billions of phone records, email headers and internet communications under secret court orders and classified directives that bypassed traditional warrants. He traced how the Patriot Act and subsequent statutes fused counterterrorism, foreign intelligence gathering and domestic law enforcement into a pervasive monitoring apparatus, laying groundwork for public debate long before Snowden’s 2013–14 disclosures. On June 18, 2013 Hastings died in a high‑speed, single‑vehicle crash in Los Angeles after voicing fears of being followed. The crash’s extreme violence, total destruction of his car and anomalies in the forensic data fueled suspicions of electronic tampering. No official inquiry found foul play, yet many journalists and investigators believe his exposés of sensitive military and intelligence programs may have played a role. Vault 7 leaks in 2017 revealed that by October 2014 the CIA’s Embedded Devices Branch had engineered malware and firmware backdoors targeting vehicle control systems—capable of covertly manipulating brakes, steering and engine management—demonstrating that intelligence agencies had the tools to weaponize modern automobiles.
latimes.com/local/obituaries/l…
Michael Hastings dies at 33; his article led general to resign
Hastings' 2010 critical portrait of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, led to his resignationJames Rainey (Los Angeles Times)
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