Sharyl Attkisson's lawyer told the Daily Beast that an investigation that found no evidence her personal computer was hacked is “irrelevant” because it reviewed the wrong computer, despite her own repeated claims that the desktop in question had been compromised. He also falsely claimed her lawsuit against the federal government for alleged hacking was focused solely on a separate work computer.

Attkisson, a former CBS reporter who now freelances for conservative outlets, previously claimed that her personal Apple laptop, personal Apple desktop, and a CBS News-issued Toshiba laptop had been breached as part of a federal effort to monitor her because she did reporting critical of the Obama administration.

In June 2013, CBS News confirmed that the CBS News computer was breached, using what the network said were “sophisticated” methods. They did not identify the party or parties behind the breach.

Attkisson writes in her book Stonewalled that she subsequently gave her “personal Apple desktop iMac computer” to the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General for review, claiming that she believed a government agency was monitoring it. A report of that review, entered into public record on January 29, found no “evidence of remote or unauthorized access” on the “personal iMac computer” OIG examined. (The report also raised serious questions about the techniques used by CBS' private technician, who examined the CBS laptop and her personal computers.)

Now, when asked to explain why the OIG was unable to find evidence of hacking on the personal Apple computer, Attkisson's lawyer Tab Turner is claiming that the findings are “irrelevant,” because the OIG looked at the wrong computer. The Daily Beast reported:

Concerning the Inspector General's report, Turner characterized it as “irrelevant,” claiming that Attkisson's “work computer” is “the sole focus” of her legal complaints.

As for why the Feds reached their decidedly unhelpful conclusions, Turner said: “It's pretty simple. They didn't look at the computer.”

It is entirely unclear why Attkisson would have turned her personal computer over to the OIG for review if, as her lawyer's statement suggests, she did not believe that machine had been compromised. Indeed, Turner's claims contradict Attkisson's own statements about the computer.

Moreover, the work computer is not "'the sole focus' of her legal complaints." In fact, the lawsuit filed in the D.C. Superior Court claims that all three of Attkisson's computers were compromised.

The lawsuit claims that the CBS News technician found “evidence on both Ms. Attkisson's Toshiba laptop and Apple desktop computers of a coordinated, highly-skilled series of actions and attacks at the operation of the computers and the storage and access of data thereon.” It claims Attkisson personally “observed for the first time that a third computer, her personal MacBookAir, was access remotely, controlled, and that data was deleted.” Finally, the lawsuit claims that “The surveillance of Ms. Attkisson's computers” -- plural -- “violated the Fourth Amendment.”

Attkisson has changed her hacking story multiple times, and the twists in the tale lead to certain confusions. For example, the Daily Beast piece, which questioned Attkisson's lawyer, claims Attkisson gave the OIG “her MacBook Air.” Attkisson's 2014 book Stonewalled and the OIG report itself, on the other hand, say the investigation was of her Apple iMac desktop. Regardless, it appears that her lawyer believes the only computer with any evidence on it is the CBS Toshiba work laptop -- contradicting Attkisson's own previous statements on the matter.

In fact, Stonewalled begins on the very first page, under the subtitle “My Computer's Intruders,” with a description of suspicious activity -- on Attkisson's Apple desktop computer.