Indeed. This is one of the things that makes me suspect Barnes. The lack of normal vetting could well indicate that the source is someone Rather was willing to vouch for personally, and this short-circuited the verification procedure.
Great tag line.
Dan-o may be Barnes' 40-yr bud, but I can't get how that would imply "trusting the source". As a Texan, most of my life I've known that Ben Barnes is a crook. So does everyone else in TX if they're informed & have common sense.