Former US official Philip Haney's death in California ruled suicide [View all]

Source: Associated Press

Former US official’s death in California ruled suicide

By DON THOMPSON
March 9, 2022

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A former Department of Homeland Security official’s death two years ago that generated right-wing conspiracy theories was ruled a suicide Wednesday by a Northern California sheriff-coroner.

Evidence found during the investigation into Philip Haney’s death has now spurred a new investigation into how he obtained “contraband” documents.

Haney, 66, was found dead with a single gunshot wound Feb. 21, 2020, in a park-and-ride lot along a busy state highway in a rural area of Amador County, east of Sacramento. He was a former DHS national security official for 15 years and self-described whistleblower critical of President Barack Obama’s administration.

Haney’s death was controversial enough for the Amador County Sheriff’s Office to bring in FBI crime scene investigators and other analysts to assist.

Investigators found that Haney left a suicide note with a signature that a forensic analysis determined was in his handwriting. The gun used was traced to him.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/crime-california-suicides-sacramento-barack-obama-46ae30f268a03f69b8f4d9a1ce8d5c6d