On the 23rd day of April in 2011, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was interviewed by the FBI, at the request of the Russians who said they were concerned about the young man’s ties to Chechen Islamic Extremists.

Two years later, Tamerlan, who was around 24 at the time of the interview, would go on to become the infamous Boston bomber in the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings. Alongside his brother, Dzhokhar, they blew up two homemade pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line at the marathon.

The attack killed three and injured nearly 300 people. The subsequent manhunt led authorities to the Tsarnaev brothers, who went on the run after learning the authorities were on their trail. Tamerlan was killed by his brother after he panicked and ran him over with his car. Dzhokhar was later shot and captured while hiding inside a boat.

While the FBI admitted, at the time of the bombings, that it had interviewed Tamerlan, it was only this week that it released the details of the interview.The FBI then asked Tamerlan a series of questions related to his daily activities. He was asked about his Chechen heritage but said he had several Russian friends in the U.S., preferring to blame the leaders of Russia, Putin and Medvedev, rather than the Russian people.

He then described his boxing activities, saying he’d hoped to be able to box for the U.S. National Team someday. When asked if he’d ever consider joining the military he said he preferred to train to be a professional boxer.

Tsarnaev, a Muslim, was asked about his activities at the local Mosque. He said he attended the Mosque on Fridays for prayers, along with a few of his friends from high school, but admitted he knew few people at the mosque.

He said he knew of Islamic extremist information on the internet but said he never frequented such sites. The FBI asked Tamerlan about other religions and he responded by saying he had respect for all religions and that being a part of one makes one’s life better.

Nothing from the interview reportedly raised any red flags in the eyes of the FBI, but something interesting to note, and what might be fodder for conspiracy theorists, was the strangely peculiar encounter, not documented, with four men reportedly belonging to the FBI.

As we’ve learned from subsequent FBI investigations, one as recent as today’s announcement of the arrest of two Chicago ISIS sympathizers, the bureau has an extensive network of informants. Those individuals often infiltrate the lives of targeted individuals, in an effort to see if they’re capable of carrying out terrorist attacks. They’re then presented with an opportunity to do so, and it’s at that time they’re arrested.

The FBI then takes credit for preventing a terrorist attack, thereby validating their anti-terrorist budget and activities. Some critics of the FBI call those actions nothing less than entrapment. And without the help of the FBI, those individuals would arguably be going about their everyday activities, unconcerned with carrying out acts of terrorism. The FBI’s anti-terrorism activities, some have said, actually create terrorists out of regular citizens.

While it’s still unclear, from Tsarnaev’s interview, whether or not the Boston bombings was one such sting operation that went horribly wrong, the facts are now becoming clear. Tsarnaev was approached by people he thought were the FBI. He was then interviewed by the FBI. He and his brother then bombed the Boston Marathon. What happened between the time of the interview and the time of the bombing is still unknown. But we hope that activists using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) can uncover any government documents which might be able to answer those remaining unanswered questions.

One thing is now for certain. When Zubeidat Tsarnaev (mother) claimed the pair of brothers were being handled by the FBI, her accusations were met with much skepticism. She proclaimed her sons’ innocence and said the FBI knew what they were doing all along.

They used to come [to our] home, they used to talk to me…they were telling me that he [the older, 26-y/o Tamerlan] was really an extremist leader and that they were afraid of him. They told me whatever information he is getting, he gets from these extremist sites… they were controlling him, they were controlling his every step…and now they say that this is a terrorist act! Never ever is this true, my sons are innocent!

(For more from the author of “Newly Released FBI Interview Claims FBI Contacted Boston Bombers before Attack” please click HERE)

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The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is demanding that the FBI hand over more documents from their investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. But this time, the request is more narrow — the committee is asking for all investigation documents related to Under Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy’s alleged “quid pro quo” proposal, in which the top Clinton aide offered more FBI agents overseas in exchange for the classification change of a certain email before it went public.

The topic of the email in question? Benghazi.

According to a Fox News report, the FBI has until Thursday of next week to hand over the documents.

“The FBI thought this information was not relevant,” Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee told Fox News, “and that is just stunning to me, because this is some of the most unbelievable set of documents that we’ve seen to date, and it really goes to the core of why we’re so concerned and why we have to continue to do vigorous oversight.”

What is the Quid Pro Quo Scandal?

The quid pro quo scandal surfaced Monday after the FBI released 100 more documents from their Clinton investigation — the final set in a four-part release.

The Stream covered the controversial finding, which suggested that Kennedy unsuccessfully pressured multiple people at the FBI to change the classification of one email before it was released. The classification change Kennedy sought would have allowed the State Department to archive the email instead of releasing it to the public in accordance with Congress’s Freedom of Information Act request. According to one interview summary of a senior FBI official, Kennedy offered a “quid pro quo:” more FBI agents “in countries where they are presently forbidden” in exchange for the classification change. The FBI’s request for those agents had previously been ignored by Kennedy.

Members of Congress expressed outrage over the finding, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), Chaffetz and Devin Nunes (R-CA), Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. In a joint statement, Chaffetz and Nunes said Kennedy’s alleged conduct is “extremely disturbing” and called for Kennedy’s removal:

Someone who would try to get classified markings doctored should not continue serving in the State Department or retain access to classified information. Therefore, President Obama and Secretary Kerry should immediately remove Under Secretary Kennedy pending full investigation.

What Was the Email?

The email that Kennedy allegedly attempted to have “doctored” is one of two emails that sparked the initial FBI investigation into Clinton’s email habits as secretary of state, reported Catherine Herridge, Fox’s Chief Intelligence correspondent. The subject line of the email is, “FW: FYI — Report of arrests — possible Benghazi connection.” The email was sent on November 18, 2012, two months after an attack on U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens, were killed in the attack.

The heavily redacted email says that individuals possibly connected to the attack had been arrested in Libya. The majority of the email’s contents, such as confidential sources, were classified, Herridge reported. The email was sent on Clinton’s private email server.

Clinton, secretary of state at the time of the attack, has been accused of failing to provide adequate security for the Americans who were stationed in Benghazi. Clinton also long insisted there was no classified information on her private email server. This email contradicted that assertion.

Did Kennedy Really Offer a Quid Pro Quo?

After the release of the FBI documents Monday, the State Department released a statement that “there was never a quid pro quo,” a position they have since maintained.

“They’re notes from interviews,” John Kirby, State Department spokesman, said of the interview summaries, indicating that they may not be accurate. “They’re not facts, they’re not conclusions, they’re not investigative work.”

But for Chaffetz and his committee who are waiting to see more FBI documents, that’s not a good enough answer. (For more from the author of “Congress Demanding More FBI Docs on State Department’s Alleged ‘Quid pro Quo'” please click HERE)

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The FBI has launched an investigation into an alleged ISIS-inspired knife attack in Roanoke, Virginia. Investigators are attempting to determine if the attacker may have been trying to behead his victim, reports ABC News.

The alleged attacker is 20-year-old Wasil Farooqui, a resident of the Roanoke area. Federal authorities have known about him “for some time,” according to ABC News. In the past year, he traveled to Turkey and sources say may have tried to sneak into Syria, where ISIS is actively recruiting.

On Saturday, Farooqui allegedly injured a man and woman at an apartment complex, yelling “Allah Akbar” as he attacked them with a knife. Authorities believe he may have been trying to behead the male victim.

“‘The FBI is working with the Police Department following the incident that occurred on Saturday evening,’ the head of the FBI’s Richmond field office, Special Agent In Charge Adam Lee, said in a statement. ‘While I cannot discuss details of the investigation at this time, I do want to reassure the community that we are working to determine the nature of the incident.'”

If this is indeed a terrorist attack, it could mark yet another instance of an individual on the FBI’s radar for terrorist connections carrying out an act of jihad before authorities could stop him.

In his book, “United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists,” Peter Bergen identified several instances of law enforcement failing to cooperate with other law enforcement agencies and missing homegrown terrorists as a result.

As Conservative Review’s Robert Eno wrote in a review of Bergen’s book:

Bergen makes a strong case for a reliance on traditional police-work techniques to ferreting out homegrown radicals. This includes the sharing of information between agencies, something that was supposed to have changed after 9/11. Bergen explains how it hasn’t. Time and time again, Bergen shows that law enforcement is still not connecting dots, and not sharing information.

Farooqui was arrested by Roanoke County Police Saturday on charges of assault with malicious wounding.

Is this another instance of the FBI failing to “connect the dots”? (For more from the author of “Defective Detectives at FBI Missed Another Terrorist in Va. Knife Attack” please click HERE)

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