Ever since the early days of the Boston Marathon bombing investigation, it’s been commonly understood that Tamerlan Tsarnaev first came to the attention of the FBI thanks to a March 2011 “warning” from the FSB, Russia’s security services.

We now know this to be false. In a little-noticed exchange during congressional testimony, the FBI’s then-director Robert Mueller admitted that the Bureau had an interest in the elder Tsarnaev beforeRussia’s warning. That crucial admission has somehow become buried over time, and the government has been only too happy to leave it out of sight.

What else is the Bureau hiding—and what is the truth behind this subterfuge?

Implausible Deniability

The record shows that the FBI has repeatedly flip-flopped on this matter, but the significance of this curious behavior has escaped the scrutiny of the traditional media.

In fact, it turns out that Tamerlan Tsarnaev came to the FBI’s attention at least twice prior to Russia’s March 2011 warnings.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), while questioning Mueller about Russia’s warning to the FBI regarding Tamerlan asked: “Did you have domestic information on Tamerlan prior to that—prior to that [March 2011] date?”

“ I don’t believe so,” Mueller responded.

“Pardon me?” King pressed.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Mueller stammered, “His name had come up in two other cases.” He went on to say that Tamerlan’s name came up regarding cases of other individuals which were subsequently closed.

“So it’s reasonable that the letter of March 4, 2011 refocused the FBI on Tamerlan?” King continued.

“Absolutely,” Mueller admitted.