Report: Russia Warned U.S. Government Numerous Times About Boston Bomber

Reports indicate Russian authorities warned the U.S. government about Tamerlan Tsarnaev multiple times before he bombed the Boston Marathon on April 15.

During a closed briefing on April 23, Senate Intelligence Committee members learned Russia had made “multiple contacts” with U.S. authorities, including “at least one in October 2011.” 

The FBI has maintained that it interviewed Tsarnaev in early 2011, determining at that time that he wasn’t a threat. 

But the FBI did not know Tsarnaev traveled to Russia in 2012. Sen. Lindsey Graham said the FBI was not alerted toTsarnaev’s trip because his name was misspelled “on an airliner passenger list.”

It is unknown whether Tsarnaev’s name was misspelled on purpose to avoid detection. 

In light of the contradiction between the Russian government’s claims and those of our own government, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) worries that we may be slipping back into pre-9/11 intelligence sharing practices between federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.