dagblog - Comments for "Veteran F.B.I. Agent Who Started Petraeus Inquiry"

Oh funny--well the guy has a

erica20 — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:01:39 +0000

In reply to Here's the "shirtless" photo

Oh funny--well the guy has a sense of humor at least!

Here's the "shirtless" photo

artappraiser — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:47:46 +0000

In reply to The FBI agent who initiated

Here's the "shirtless" photo itself, from The Seattle Times, which is as described above in their piece, clearly just a case of non-sexual goofing around:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/15/david-petraeus-benghazi-hear...

My bad (at least so far) on

erica20 — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:21:32 +0000

In reply to "Convinced that the case was

My bad (at least so far) on the Cantor/Petraeus conversation. Cantor called the director of the FBI and passed along the info. The FBI called him back and told him there was still an investigation going on but let it be known that there was no breach of national security (which is why legislators were not informed.)

So Cantor did not talk with Petraeus at least as far as we know.

Regarding the FBI agent, reports have stressed that his decision to alert Reichert and Cantor to the investigation had to do with his "worldview," which I think is a way of saying that it was a decision motivated by political considerations.

If it were the case that he

artappraiser — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:58:51 +0000

In reply to "Convinced that the case was

If it were the case that he thought the Bush administration was trying to cover up something, would you feel the same way? I must say I am impressed that he obviously didn't care what his higher ups thought when he felt they were doing the wrong thing with Ahmed Ressam. I suspect has been painted so far as something he is not. Maybe a little blind to being able to judge members of his own social circle objectively.

There was a reference to a

erica20 — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:14:13 +0000

In reply to Curious, why do you believe

There was a reference to a conversation in one of the early reports. At least, I'm pretty sure there was. I've meant to go back and find it, but the story is now so complicated that it won't be easy to wade through everything.

Curious, why do you believe

Aunt Sam — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:11:18 +0000

In reply to I agree. Second-guessing the

Curious, why do you believe they spoke with him?

I agree. Second-guessing the

erica20 — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:53:14 +0000

In reply to "Convinced that the case was

I agree. Second-guessing the President and whistle-blowing are not the same thing.

The next question to ask is, did Reichert and Cantor try to squeeze information about Benghazi out of Petraeus for political reasons? I believe they spoke with him after Humphries tipped them off.

"Convinced that the case was

MrSmith1 — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:02:06 +0000

In reply to Veteran F.B.I. Agent Who Started Petraeus Inquiry

"Convinced that the case was being stalled for political reasons, Mr. Humphries in late October contacted Representative Dave Reichert, a Republican from Washington State, where the F.B.I. agent had worked previously, to inform him of the case."

He turned 'the case' political based on his 'hunch'. Pfft.

Sorry, but this jerk should be canned.

The FBI agent who initiated

artappraiser — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 06:58:17 +0000

In reply to Veteran F.B.I. Agent Who Started Petraeus Inquiry

The FBI agent who initiated the investigation that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus has a history of bucking the system on principle, once testifying for the defense of convicted would-be "millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam about Ressam's harsh treatment by the agent's colleagues after the 9/11 attacks.

Special Agent Fred Humphries was outspoken in opposing the FBI's decision at the time to turn Ressam over to agents from New York after the attacks, and warned their tough tactics were undoing the cooperation Humphries had coaxed out of the al-Qaida-trained terrorist. Eventually, Ressam ceased cooperating, as Humphries predicted.

Humphries found himself sharply criticized within the bureau. He insisted he had done right and owed it to Ressam.

That same sense of right and duty may be what drove Humphries late last month to contact U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert when he concluded that the FBI was dragging its feet — possibly for political reasons — into an investigation into disturbing emails sent anonymously to Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, according to sources familiar with the case [....]

continued @

Mystery FBI agent in Petraeus scandal revealed
By Mike Carter, Seattle Times, Nov 14

Also, back to the NYT article; note this on page 2:

Mr. Berger said Mr. Humphries and his wife had been “social friends with Ms. Kelley and her husband prior to the day she referred the matter to him.”

“They always socialized and corresponded,” he said.

Mr. Berger took issue with news media reports that said his client had sent shirtless pictures of himself to Ms. Kelley.

“That picture was sent years before Ms. Kelley contacted him about this, and it was sent as part of a larger context of what I would call social relations in which the families would exchange numerous photos of each other,” Mr. Berger said.

The photo was sent as a joke, he said, and was of Mr. Humphries “posing with a couple of dummies.” Mr. Berger added that it was not sexual in nature.

What a farce this is turning

EmmaZahn — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 03:51:46 +0000

In reply to Veteran F.B.I. Agent Who Started Petraeus Inquiry

What a farce this is turning out to be.