The Murder of Ibragim Todashev: Another American Secret

Dear Mr. President,

Ibragim Todashev was shot dead by an FBI agent on May 22 during an interrogation. There were reportedly two Massachusetts State Troopers present as well as Orlando police. What happened is shrouded in mystery; during the first week, accounts changed daily until the FBI refused to make any further public statements pending completion of an investigation. That was 2½ months ago. The autopsy was completed on July 8 but the FBI blocked the Florida medical examiner from releasing it to the public “due to the ongoing investigation.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the ACLU called for independent inquiries. The Massachusetts AG declined and Tuesday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement also declined “due to the ongoing investigation.” Todashev’s roommate, Tatiana Gruzdeva, was picked up by immigration officials a few days before Todashev was killed and charged with overstaying her visa; she was kept in jail and apparently deported to Russia four days ago. It’s likely she has information about why Todashev thought the FBI was questioning and following him. (Ironically, in 2008 Todashev, a Chechen, was granted asylum in the U.S.) Maybe the FBI and Justice Department take this long to investigate a shooting but the outcome, like the Bradley Manning trial, is a foregone conclusion: investigations over the past 20 years of 150 shootings by FBI agents have found not one wrongful shooting of anyone in spite of a $1.3 million settlement with one victim. It’s like the Army’s investigation of the 17 Afghan civilians tortured and murdered by Special Forces and/or their Afghan cohorts: 3 separate investigations found no U.S. involvement but the Army refuses to release any of the reports. It’s like the NSA assuring Congress that they do not collect phone records or internet records in bulk. It’s like Brennan claiming that civilian casualties from drone strikes are in the single digits. It’s like you assuring us that the assassination of American citizens without legal recourse is legal but not releasing the secret memos that justify it. It’s like you assuring the American public, “No one’s listening to your phone calls.” Everything the government does is now classified, secret, a matter of national security, too sensitive for the public to know. If government was transparent and honest, there would be no Daniel Ellsbergs or Julian Assanges or Bradley Mannings or Edward Snowdens. Whistleblowers are the last line of defense against tyranny.