Authorities have retracted their statement that former Department of Homeland Security whistleblower Philip Haney’s death was a result of a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Officials announced the investigation’s twist early Tuesday. Authorities said in a statement they’re no longer ruling out any possibility in the sudden and mysterious death of Haney.
Haney was best known for exposing Obama’s White House’s inaction on radical Islamic terror plots and his administration’s misuse of intelligence data by the former president’s White House, including information Haney believes could have halted the infamous Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.
Haney reportedly died of a single gunshot wound to the chest on Friday off a California highway near Sacramento.
Officials initially announced that Haney’s gunshot wound was self-inflicted. After pushback, the police reached out to the FBI for assistance in “analyzing documents, phone records, and a laptop that were recovered from the scene and Mr. Haney’s RV.”
According to reports, the Sacrament County Coroner’s Office has also scheduled a forensic autopsy to try and solve whether Haney committed suicide or if he was murdered.
The full statement from the Amador County Sheriff’s Office reads —
On February 22, 2020 the Amador County Sheriff’s Office released initial details regarding Philip Haney being found deceased in our jurisdiction. Mr. Haney was located in a park and ride open area immediately adjacent to State Highway 16 near State Highway 124. Highway 16 is a busy state highway and used as a main travel route to and from Sacramento. The location is less than 3 miles from where he was living.
Currently we have scheduled a forensic autopsy to be performed by forensic pathologists from the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office. Additionally we have reached out to our law enforcement partners in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to assist in analyzing documents, phone records and a laptop that were recovered from the scene and Mr. Haney’s RV. We are currently in possession of his vehicle, the firearm located at the scene, and his RV and we will be requesting evidence processing assistance from the FBI on those items as well.
Our investigators conducted a neighborhood canvas and interviewed his RV park neighbors on the day of the incident along with checking key areas for any video surveillance that may exist from that time. The investigators are continuing to follow-up with the overwhelming number of persons who are calling our office from throughout the United States asking for detailed information on our investigation.
Unfortunately, there was misinformation immediately being put out that we have determined Mr. Haney’s death to be a suicide. This is not the case. We are currently in the beginning phase of our investigation and any final determination as to the cause and manner of Mr. Haney’s death would be extremely premature and inappropriate. No determination will be made until all evidence is examined and analyzed.
This investigation is still active and will be ongoing. No further details will be provided at this time.
READ MORE: Obama whistleblower found dead of “self-inflicted gunshot wound”
The Horn editorial team