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Our coverage of boston marathon bombing

WHO in Boston: Bombing Story Mysteries

10599209-spider-web-illustration-for-backgroundMost of the national and international media have left Boston—and essentially moved on from the Marathon bombing story. But at WhoWhatWhy, we’re just getting started.

Why? Because we see a lot of problems with what we’ve been told so far. We’ve been disappointed that the media have failed to demonstrate healthy skepticism while passing along, unchallenged, the (self-serving) assertions of “the authorities.”

It is the job of journalism not only to report what authorities say, but also to confirm their claims, and address anomalies, errors, inconsistencies, outright lies, and cover-ups, large and View article …

Boston Marathon Bombing

The Boston Bombing Anniversary: A Legacy of Unanswered Questions

Here we are, on the third Boston Marathon since the one we will never forget. Two powerful bombs ripped through the assembled crowd, killing Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi and Martin Richard, and wounding many others. Later, a policeman was shot to death.  We were told he was shot by one of two brothers accused of the bombing, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

 

 

The images are seared into our memories. So, too, is the extraordinary government response: an American city totally locked down while armored vehicles, helicopters, and police in full combat gear patrolled the streets of greater Boston.

 

Four days after the View article …

Boston Marathon Bombing

Boston Bomber in Court but Full Story Still Muzzled

A court in Boston heard arguments on Thursday from lawyers for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. His defense team argued that he had not had a fair trial and deserves a new one. Tsarnaev is being held at the federal supermax prison in Florence, CO, where he faces the death penalty.  

 

The Boston Marathon Bombings were so horrific and egregious that the media pack quickly closed ranks around the narrative put out by the authorities and refused to look further. That’s understandable, but it isn’t good for journalism or for View article …

OPINION: The Glaring Absence of Cameras in the Boston Bombing Trial

1Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial is in its ninth day of testimony. It’s one of the most significant cases Boston and the nation have seen in years.

Except we haven’t seen it.

As fascinated as I am by the story behind the Boston Marathon bombing, I couldn’t make it to court to see the U.S. attorneys and Tsarnaev’s defense team make their cases. Even if I had, there’s no guarantee I’d have been allowed into the courtroom or the overflow room set up to meet the heightened demand; there’s only View article …

The Marathon Bombing: What the Media Didn’t Warn You About

During a meeting on Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after the bombings at the Boston Marathon, a well-meaning person asked me whether I thought we could assume that the usual suspects were behind the mayhem, or whether there was “more to it.” When I explained doubts about the conventional rush to judgment—and where those doubts came from—I was told I was on dangerous ground. This person, it seemed, was quite steadfast that View article …

Was Tamerlan Tsarnaev an FBI Informant? Odds Say it’s Possible

We asked each member of our Boston Marathon Bombing reporting team to share their personal experience or perspective on one aspect of the bombing or the trial. Stay tuned for more personal perspectives like this as the trial concludes.

 

The entire defense of convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was an effort to avoid the death penalty. Partly for that reason, no attempt was made to address the many unanswered questions surrounding the case, including one that could View article …

The Boston Bombing Trial Begins: Jan. 5, 2015

NOW LIVE ON WhoWhatWhy

The Boston Bombing Trial Starts, But Answers Aren’t on the Docket by Russ Baker
The trial of accused Boston Marathon Bombing co-conspirator Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is starting, but answers about what really happened aren’t likely to be on the docket.

Our Boston Marathon Bombing Trial News Feed by The WhoWhatWhy Team
Stay updated with the latest from the trial of Boston Marathon Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, reported by WhoWhatWhy’s team in and out of the courtroom.

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Louis Freeh’s Latest Investigation: Billionaire Businessman Accused of Bribing African Government
The Intercept examines former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s profitable new job View article …

Boston After-Action Report Raises Still More Questions–Inadvertently

2We asked each member of our Boston Marathon Bombing reporting team to share their personal experience or perspective on one aspect of the bombing or the trial. Stay tuned for more personal perspectives like this as the trial concludes.

 

“Read between the lines buffs” will have a field day with a new report out from law enforcement with regard to the Boston Marathon Bombings. Like almost everything else about this case, it suggests to the careful reader that much has been omitted. Not only is the report of interest, but so View article …

Another Boston Bombing Witness Beatdown?

Another friend of the accused Boston Marathon bombers is claiming brutal treatment at the hands of law enforcement. This time the alleged perpetrators aren’t FBI agents, they’re prison guards.

Tsarnaev friend Khairullozhon Matanov, a 23-year-old immigrant from Kyrgyzstan, was arrested in May on obstruction of justice charges and is currently in federal custody awaiting trial. He’s being held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was under law enforcement watch for roughly a year. After the View article …

Here’s What the Boston Bombing Trial Judge Thinks a Good Juror Looks Like

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole–in his third motion denying a change of venue for the Boston Marathon bombing trial–boasted again that “the process of interviewing prospective jurors in person … is proving successful.”

O’Toole pointed to a particular juror as an example of fair-mindedness:

One human resources professional explained that it was a common occurrence in her experience for her initial impression of the merits of a workplace controversy to be altered or even reversed when she had information from a fuller or more careful investigation, and so she had learned to keep her View article …