- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
WikiLeaks says journalist Michael Hastings, 33, killed in a fiery crash early Tuesday morning after his Mercedes plowed into a tree near the corners of Melrose and Highland Avenues, had contacted the organization hours earlier to say he was the subject of an FBI investigation.
The tweet, issued Wednesday to WikiLeaks’ 1.9 million followers, reads, “Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him.”
The journalism community has poured forth with expressions of shock and deep sadness since news of Hastings’ sudden and dramatic death rippled across social media Tuesday.
Related Stories
Hastings, perhaps best known for the 2010 Rolling Stone piece that ultimately brought down U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, was hailed in countless obituaries as a fearless and unstoppable reporter.
“Michael Hastings was really only interested in writing stories someone didn’t want him to write — often his subjects; occasionally his editor,” reads one post on BuzzFeed, where Hastings was a contributor. “While there is no template for a great reporter, he was one for reasons that were intrinsic to who he was: ambitious, skeptical of power and conventional wisdom, and incredibly brave.”
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, Alex Gibney‘s documentary about the secretive organization that publishes top-secret documents, is currently in theaters. The Fifth Estate, a scripted WikiLeaks drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as founder Julian Assange, is currently filming and is due in theaters Oct. 11.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request to comment on this story.
Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 19, 2013
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day