I agree the whole thing is fascinating.
For one, I’d like to know the definition of ‘representing’ themselves as phone workers.
The ‘representation’ could well be in the eye of the office worker drawing their own conclusion when a couple of guys in overalls say, ‘Hi, we’re here to check out your phones’.
Kinda like ACORN voter enrollees, ‘Hi, I’d like to register to vote.’ No ID, no certification.
And ‘manipulating’ the phones. Well, picking up a phone is ‘manipulating’ it as is moving it an inch across the desk.
To my untrained eye, the FBI report looks weak. I’ve read a couple in days gone by that appeared much more fleshed out.
I still think they are acting as beaters to flush out some sort of game. Just don’t know what the critters are.
Have you read the FBI affidavit? Flanagan and Basel physically and verbally represented themselves as telephone company employees. They manipulated the phone to which they were given access by taking apart the handset piece. Then they said they needed access to the main phone system closet to do some repair work.
They were referred to the main GSA office on the same floor. There again they verbally represented themselves as telephone system repairmen and asked for access to the closet. When asked for I’d to verify their status, they claimed to have left their IDs in their vehicle.
There is no getting around the facts in this case, at least where Flanagan and Basel are concerned.