Disclaimer: This article may contain the personal views and opinions of the author.
On Saturday, a well-known Twitter sleuth with the handle “Techno Fog” and who claims to be a lawyer alleged that the FBI has a bombshell document about Robert Mueller’s obstruction of justice case.
The bureau recently denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender who was found dead in his jail cell last year. The denial raises questions about what, if anything, the FBI is hiding.
“The FBI has previously released responsive records pursuant to the FOIA,” the bureau said in its statement. “However, a subsequent review of these records determined that they are law enforcement records that were improperly released due to a production error. The records responsive to your request are currently being reviewed for release under the FOIA and applicable law enforcement exclusions.”
Techno Fog pointed out that the FBI has released responsive records in the past, so why the sudden change? He speculated that the bureau was hiding something potentially explosive.
“The FBI has released responsive records in the past,” he tweeted. “What’s changed? Why the sudden about-face? My guess: The records are embarrassing and/or implicate powerful people.”
He added: “The records likely show Epstein was an intelligence asset who was protected (perhaps by Robert Mueller). The records are explosive, and the FBI knows it. That’s why they’re stonewalling.”
The denial came in response to a request from Techno Fog, who writes a popular Substack column. Techno Fog sought every record related to any interviews the FBI conducted with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The user suggested that the bureau, which has recently — and credibly — been accused of becoming politicized, may be hiding something. “I’m not sure what the FBI could possibly be hiding at this point,” Techno Fog wrote. “But their track record doesn’t inspire confidence.”
Some commentators on social media were quick to point out that the denial of the FOIA request could simply be a bureaucratic error. Others, however, were convinced that there was more to the story.
“The fact that they denied your FOIA request means they’re definitely hiding something,” one user wrote. “The FBI has something to hide,” another said.
Techno Fog: “It’s more likely that the Epstein records might embarrass the FBI. The DOJ and FBI have been known to abuse the FOIA law enforcement exemption to hide investigative materials from public release. We’ve seen them do it. And they’re doing it again.
“We’re exceedingly doubtful that the release of the Epstein records would ‘interfere with enforcement proceedings. Ghislaine Maxwell has been convicted, and Epstein is dead. The only potential tie might be from a grand jury investigation into ‘other possible co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein.’ But that was from the summer of 2020, and we rightly assume no charges were brought against whoever was being investigated.”
The bureau responded: “The records responsive to your request are law enforcement records; there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records, and release of the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
Whether or not the FBI is hiding anything remains to be seen. But given the bureau’s recent track record, it’s not impossible to believe that they might be trying to keep something under wraps.
