FBI Admits They Have Seth Rich’s Laptop, 3390

I’m still reporting on Seth Rich.
According to a story published yesterday afternoon by Larry Johnson in the Gateway Pundit, the FBI has finally admitted that they do have Seth Rich’s laptop computer, despite more than 4 years of repeated denials that they had any information on Seth Rich at all.
Previous Freedom of Information requests have been rebuked by the FBI’s standard response that after doing computer searches, there are no documents on Seth Rich in our records.
We knew it was a lie then, and now they are just in essence admitting it.
“FBI has completed the initial search identifying approximately 50 cross-reference serials, with attachments totaling over 20,000 pages, in which Seth Rich is mentioned. FBI has also located leads that indicate additional potential records that require further searching. . . .
“FBI is also currently working on getting the files from Seth Rich’s personal laptop into a format to be reviewed. As you can imagine, there are thousands of files of many types. The goal right now is to describe, generally, the types of files/personal information contained in this computer.”
According to Gateway Pundit’s Larry Johnson:
“The FBI collects and retains evidence of federal crimes. It also has responsibility for counterintelligence matters. I can understand the FBI collecting Seth Rich’s computer as possible evidence after he was murdered. It would have been entirely appropriate to investigate whether or not Rich was in contact with Wikileaks. The FBI only retains evidence on an active, open case.
“But the FBI has insisted for more than four years that it was never involved actively in the investigation of Seth Rich’s murder and that it never opened a case. That lie is now exposed.”
So the question now is, why has the FBI lied for over 4 years about having Seth’s laptop?
This is not a small error. In Sept. 2017, David Hardy, the FBI’s Section Chief of the Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS), Information Management Division (IMD) of the FBI’s new records division headquartered in Winchester, Virginia denied in writing:
“CRS Search and Results. In response to Plaintiff’s request dated September 1, 2017, RIDS conducted an index search of the CRS for responsive main and reference file records employing the UNI application of ACS. The FBI searched the subject’s name, “Seth Conrad Rich,” in order to identify files responsive to Plaintiff’s request and subject to the FOIA. The FBI’s searches included a three-way phonetic breakdown5 of the subject’s name. These searches located no main or reference records responsive to Plaintiff’s FOIA request.”
“By letter executed on November 9, 2017, OIP advised Plaintiff it affirmed the FBI’s determination. OIP further advised Plaintiff that to the extent his request sought access to records that would either confirm or deny an individual’s placement on any government watch list, the FBI properly refused to confirm or deny the existence of any such records because their existence is protected from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E). . ..”
Ah hah! Now, let’s go to the Federal Register and see what Section b has to say:
“This section does not apply to matters that are – “
So agencies of the Federal Government do not have to make public information that:

Now on to subsection 7, which says:
“… records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information…”
Then finally, sub-sub section E:
“(E) [that] would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law.”
Ahh Hahhh! So, the justification for not revealing the Seth Rich information – as well as lying about it – is because to tell the truth, they would have to reveal that they were illegally spying on Seth Rich’s electronic communications which were endangering not the security of the United States, but the shady doings of the Democrat National Committee.
And perhaps even, passing these illegal intercepts on to the DNC helped them to find the source of these leaks.
Nope, we can’t let the public know anything about this domestic spying program and its potential consequences on heroic Americans.
That’s the FBI’s justification for 4 years of lies about Seth Rich.
I’m still reporting from just outside the citadel of American freedom. Good day.