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Agreed, which is why I think this information is additional evidence and not a smoking gun. I do think given what is public knowledge, the prospect of the CIA using an experimental new technique on a target like Hastings is suspect.

Ultimately though, we don't know what he uncovered and intended to publish, and how long the CIA had to react to it. An extraordinary revelation may have necessitated an extraordinary reaction. The point is that the new information takes the concept of malicious car hacking from speculation to reality.