{"id":11345,"date":"2018-01-22T15:54:37","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T20:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=11345"},"modified":"2018-01-22T21:21:54","modified_gmt":"2018-01-23T02:21:54","slug":"hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"blogs-social-wrp\">\n<div class=\"addthis_inline_share_toolbox_ru82\" data-description=\"The FBI is no closer to being compelled to operate openly than when Patrick Gray threw those White House files to burn in his fireplace.\" data-title=\"Destroying, suppressing evidence is FBI standard procedure\" data-url=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/civil-rights\/370122-another-software-upgrade-suppressing-evidence-is-fbi-standard-procedure\">\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"at-1eb7caa8-ef9e-46da-a758-ad93958a6ca6\"><a href=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/The-FBI-ha-with-courts-and-hill-logo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11354\" src=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/The-FBI-ha-with-courts-and-hill-logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/The-FBI-ha-with-courts-and-hill-logo.jpg 750w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/The-FBI-ha-with-courts-and-hill-logo-150x83.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"at-1eb7caa8-ef9e-46da-a758-ad93958a6ca6\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"atstbx\" class=\"at-resp-share-element at-style-responsive addthis-smartlayers addthis-animated at4-show\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"at-1eb7caa8-ef9e-46da-a758-ad93958a6ca6\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"column\">\n<article class=\"node-370122 node node-article view-mode-full clearfix\">\n<div class=\"content-img-wrp\">\n<div class=\"credits\">\n<h1><a href=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-11346\" src=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"425\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg 650w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder-145x150.jpg 145w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px\" \/><\/a>The Hill, January 22, 2018<\/h1>\n<h1 id=\"page-title\" class=\"title\"><a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/civil-rights\/370122-another-software-upgrade-suppressing-evidence-is-fbi-standard-procedure\">Destroying, suppressing evidence is FBI standard procedure<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credits\">by James Bovard<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content-with-sidebar-wrp\">\n<div class=\"content-wrp\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p>Congressional investigators were rocked this weekend when the FBI notified them that five months of text messages from a top FBI investigator into the Trump campaign\u2019s Russian connections had mysteriously vanished.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI-issued cell phone of Peter Strzok, whose previous texts to his mistress (also an FBI agent) showed fierce hostility to Trump, suddenly had problems due to \u201csoftware upgrades\u201d and other issues \u2014 and voila \u2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/370027-fbi-unable-to-preserve-certain-text-exchanges-from-agent-removed-from-mueller\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">all the messages between the two from Dec. 14, 2016, to May 17, 2017 vanished<\/a>. Strzok, who oversaw the Trump investigation from its start in July 2016, was removed from Mueller\u2019s Special Counsel investigation last summer after the Justice Department Inspector General discovered his anti-Trump texts.<\/p>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad-mosad_1-wrapper\" class=\"dfp-tag-wrapper wrapper\">\n<div id=\"dfp-ad-mosad_1\" class=\"dfp-tag-wrapper\" data-google-query-id=\"CIittb2n7NgCFcyjswod9X8G5A\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_1107919\/Content_300x250_ROS_asynch_0__container__\">Stephen Boyd, the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, notified a Senate committee that \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/370027-fbi-unable-to-preserve-certain-text-exchanges-from-agent-removed-from-mueller\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">data that should have been automatically <\/a>collected and retained for long-term storage and retrieval was not collected.\u201d The missing texts could have obliterated the remnants of credibility of the FBI\u2019s investigation of the Trump campaign.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Conservatives are caterwauling about the vanished evidence but this type of tactic has long been standard procedure for the FBI. Acting FBI chief Patrick Gray was forced to resign in 1973 after it was revealed that he had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/theguardian\/2014\/apr\/28\/fbi-chief-quits-watergate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">burned incriminating evidence from the White House<\/a> in his fireplace shortly after the Watergate break-in by Nixon White House \u201cplumbers.\u201d Gray claimed he was resigning to preserve the \u201creputation and integrity\u201d of the FBI \u2014 but that hasn\u2019t worked out so well.<\/p>\n<div class=\"blogs-social-wrp\">\n<div class=\"addthis_inline_share_toolbox_ru82\" data-description=\"The FBI is no closer to being compelled to operate openly than when Patrick Gray threw those White House files to burn in his fireplace.\" data-title=\"Destroying, suppressing evidence is FBI standard procedure\" data-url=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/civil-rights\/370122-another-software-upgrade-suppressing-evidence-is-fbi-standard-procedure\">\n<div id=\"atstbx\" class=\"at-resp-share-element at-style-responsive addthis-smartlayers addthis-animated at4-show\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"at-1eb7caa8-ef9e-46da-a758-ad93958a6ca6\">The FBI has a long history of \u201closing\u201d evidence that would tarnish its halo. And for most of the agency\u2019s history, judges and Congress have let the FBI sweep its dirt under the rug.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"column\">\n<article class=\"node-370122 node node-article view-mode-full clearfix\">\n<div class=\"content-with-sidebar-wrp\">\n<div class=\"content-wrp\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p>In the Ruby Ridge case, when an FBI sniper gunned down an Idaho mother holding her baby in 1992, the chief of the <a href=\"http:\/\/articles.latimes.com\/1997\/oct\/11\/news\/mn-41736\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FBI\u2019s Violence Crimes division was sent <\/a>to prison for destroying evidence. When a Senate committee held hearings three years later, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1995\/09\/20\/us\/104th-congress-ruby-ridge-hearing-fbi-leader-idaho-siege-says-inquiry-was.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">four FBI agents took the Fifth Amendment<\/a> rather than tell the incriminating truth about their activities on the Ruby Ridge case. A subsequent Senate report concluded that the five successive FBI reports of internal investigations of the episode &#8220;are <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=UOy-7sG5CVEC&amp;pg=PA135&amp;lpg=PA135&amp;dq=senate+report+ruby+ridge+variously+contradictory,+inaccura\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">variously contradictory, inaccurate, and biased<\/a>. They demonstrate a reluctance on the part of the FBI initially to take the incidents at Ruby Ridge seriously.\u201d Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/newspage\/153347482\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">complained<\/a>, &#8220;I would be asked by the FBI to believe (Ruby Ridge) was almost a model of (good) conduct. The conclusion, is drawn, from &#8230; all the people we&#8217;ve heard, that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/newspage\/153347017\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no one did anything wrong<\/a> of significance or consequence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The FBI suppressed mounds of evidence regarding its final assault on the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993. The FBI had always vehemently denied that it had any blame for a fire that killed nearly 80 people; six years after the attack, investigators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-srv\/national\/daily\/aug99\/davidians26.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">found<\/a> pyrotechnic rounds the FBI fired into the building before the conflagration erupted. Attorney General Janet Reno lashed out at the FBI for destroying her credibility.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/fire-wont-die-166178\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newsweek reported <\/a>that, according to a senior FBI official, \u201cas many as 100 FBI agents and officials may have known about\u201d the military-style explosive devices used by the FBI at Waco, despite Reno\u2019s and the FBI\u2019s repeated denials that such devices were used. The FBI deceived Congress and a federal judge by withholding information that <a href=\"https:\/\/culteducation.com\/group\/1220-waco-davidians\/24404-fbi-cameras-encircled-compound-files-show.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">it had six closed-circuit television cameras monitoring the Davidians\u2019 home throughout the siege<\/a>. The resulting films could have the key information that could resolve the major issues of Waco but the FBI withheld the tapes for years, until they were <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/1999\/09\/02\/marshals-seize-fbis-secret-waco-tapes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">impounded<\/a> by U.S. marshals.<\/p>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"column\">\n<article class=\"node-370122 node node-article view-mode-full clearfix\">\n<div class=\"content-with-sidebar-wrp\">\n<div class=\"content-wrp\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p>FBI evidence shenanigans destroyed the prosecution of Cliven Bundy, the Nevadan rancher who was involved in a high-profile standoff with federal agents in 2014. The feds charged the Bundy family with conspiracy in large part because the ranchers summoned militia to defend them after they claimed that FBI snipers had surrounded their ranch. Justice Department lawyers scoffed at this claim in prior trials involving the standoff but newly-released documents confirm that snipers were in place prior to the Bundy\u2019s call for help. Federal judge<a href=\"http:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/oregon-standoff\/2017\/12\/mistrial_declared_in_cliven_bu.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Gloria Navarro slammed the FBI last month <\/a>for withholding key evidence in the case.<\/p>\n<p>Evidence disposal is no problem for politically-favored targets of FBI investigation. A month before the 2016 election, Americans learned that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/2016\/10\/03\/fbi-agreed-to-destroy-immunized-clinton-aides-laptops-sources-say.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the FBI agreed to destroy the laptops of top <\/a><a class=\"rollover-people-link\" href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/hillary-clinton\" data-nid=\"188224\">Hillary Clinton<\/a> aides after a limited examination of their contents (including a promise not to examine any emails or content after January 31, 2015) in its investigation of Hillary Clinton\u2019s private email server. Four Republican congressional committee chairmen complained to Attorney General Lynch that the FBI agreement was &#8221; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/2016\/10\/05\/republicans-blast-fbi-for-astonishing-agreement-to-destroy-clinton-aides-laptops.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">simply astonishing given <\/a>the likelihood that evidence on the laptops would be of interest to congressional investigators.\u201d The FBI shrugged off the Clinton team\u2019s subsequent use of<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/immunity-deals-stopped-fbi-from-investigating-bleachbit-use-in-clinton-email-case\/article\/2603732\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> bleachbit software to erase thousands of her emails<\/a>. <span class=\"rollover-people\" data-behavior=\"rolloverpeople\"><a class=\"rollover-people-link\" href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/jeff-sessions\" data-nid=\"188198\">Jeff Sessions<\/a><\/span>, who was then a U.S. senator and is now Attorney General, condemned the FBI\u2019s behavior as \u201cbreathtaking:\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/2016-presidential-race\/2016\/10\/06\/sen-jeff-sessions-blasts-fbi-destroying-evidence-granting-mills-immu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">really don\u2019t see how Congress can issue a subpoena for records and they then destroy those records<\/a>. I am telling you that every business knows that if they get a subpoena for business records, and they destroy those records, they are subject to criminal prosecution and will be prosecuted.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Will the FBI face any consequences for its latest lost evidence debacle? In our high-tech era, it is no longer necessary to toss damning evidence into a fireplace. \u201cSoftware upgrades\u201d sounds so innocuous that only conspiracy theorists could wonder about missing smoking guns. But the FBI is no closer to being compelled to operate openly than when Patrick Gray ignited those White House files.<\/p>\n<p><em>James Bovard is <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/search\/bovard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>a USA Today columnist<\/em><\/a><em> and the author of 10 books, including \u201c<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Lost-Rights-Destruction-American-Liberty\/dp\/0312123337\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty<\/em><\/a><em>\u201d (St. Martin\u2019s Press, 1994).<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Thanks to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pixabay.com\">Pixabay<\/a> for the royalty-free shredder.<a href=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/In-the-old-days-FBI-officials-burned-damning-evidence.-Nowadays-they-just-blame-_software-upgrades-twitter-size.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11349\" src=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/In-the-old-days-FBI-officials-burned-damning-evidence.-Nowadays-they-just-blame-_software-upgrades-twitter-size.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/In-the-old-days-FBI-officials-burned-damning-evidence.-Nowadays-they-just-blame-_software-upgrades-twitter-size.jpg 750w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/In-the-old-days-FBI-officials-burned-damning-evidence.-Nowadays-they-just-blame-_software-upgrades-twitter-size-150x64.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Hill, January 22, 2018 Destroying, suppressing evidence is FBI standard procedure by James Bovard Congressional investigators were rocked this weekend when the FBI notified them that five months of text messages from a top FBI investigator into the Trump campaign\u2019s Russian connections had mysteriously vanished. The FBI-issued cell phone of Peter Strzok, whose previous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1328,519,1337,47,339,565,983,1332,652,708,102],"class_list":["post-11345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bundy-ranch","tag-due-process","tag-email","tag-fbi","tag-hillary-clinton","tag-janet-reno","tag-jeff-sessions","tag-mueller","tag-ruby-ridge","tag-trump","tag-waco"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure - James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Hill, January 22, 2018 Destroying, suppressing evidence is FBI standard procedure by James Bovard Congressional investigators were rocked this weekend when the FBI notified them that five months of text messages from a top FBI investigator into the Trump campaign\u2019s Russian connections had mysteriously vanished. The FBI-issued cell phone of Peter Strzok, whose previous [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-22T20:54:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-01-23T02:21:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"673\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jimbovard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"headline\":\"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-22T20:54:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-01-23T02:21:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":989,\"commentCount\":4,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bundy Ranch\",\"due process\",\"email\",\"FBI\",\"hillary clinton\",\"Janet Reno\",\"Jeff Sessions\",\"Mueller\",\"Ruby Ridge\",\"Trump\",\"Waco\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure - James Bovard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-22T20:54:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-01-23T02:21:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg\",\"width\":650,\"height\":673},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/22\\\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"James Bovard\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\",\"name\":\"Jim\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Jim\"},\"description\":\"Bovard's homepage is at http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \\\"the roving inspector general of the modern state\\\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \\\"one-man truth squad.\\\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism &amp; Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \\\"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\\\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/jim.bovard\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jimbovard\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure - James Bovard","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure - James Bovard","og_description":"The Hill, January 22, 2018 Destroying, suppressing evidence is FBI standard procedure by James Bovard Congressional investigators were rocked this weekend when the FBI notified them that five months of text messages from a top FBI investigator into the Trump campaign\u2019s Russian connections had mysteriously vanished. The FBI-issued cell phone of Peter Strzok, whose previous [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/","og_site_name":"James Bovard","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","article_published_time":"2018-01-22T20:54:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-01-23T02:21:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":650,"height":673,"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jim","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jimbovard","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"headline":"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure","datePublished":"2018-01-22T20:54:37+00:00","dateModified":"2018-01-23T02:21:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/"},"wordCount":989,"commentCount":4,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg","keywords":["Bundy Ranch","due process","email","FBI","hillary clinton","Janet Reno","Jeff Sessions","Mueller","Ruby Ridge","Trump","Waco"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/","name":"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure - James Bovard","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg","datePublished":"2018-01-22T20:54:37+00:00","dateModified":"2018-01-23T02:21:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fbi-seal-shredder.jpg","width":650,"height":673},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/hill-destroying-evidence-fbi-standard-procedure\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Hill: Destroying Evidence is FBI Standard Procedure"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/","name":"James Bovard","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f","name":"Jim","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Jim"},"description":"Bovard's homepage is at http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \"the roving inspector general of the modern state\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \"one-man truth squad.\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism &amp; Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","https:\/\/x.com\/jimbovard"],"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11345"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11355,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11345\/revisions\/11355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}