+10 years later and we are still baffled by the ops of Carlos Danger
Alternative: Email Sync (Not Full Backup)
If BlackBerry was synced with Outlook or Lotus Notes via Desktop Manager:
Emails were copied to the laptop’s email client.
BBM/SMS were not included in email sync.
Here's what Grok says:
There is no evidence that BlackBerry files (messages, backups, or data) were saved to Anthony Weiner’s laptop in any official, technical, or documented way.
The confusion likely stems from misinterpretations of the 2016 FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, where Anthony Weiner’s laptop became involved. Let’s clarify what actually happened vs. what did not.
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What DID NOT Happen
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BlackBerry messages or backups were not transferred from any BlackBerry device to Weiner’s laptop.
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No BlackBerry Desktop Manager,
.ipdfile, or BlackBerry Link backup was ever found on Weiner’s laptop
.
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Weiner did not own or use a BlackBerry in any capacity related to the case.
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What DID Happen (The Real Story)
| Fact | Explanation ||------|-------------|| Huma Abedin (Clinton aide, married to Weiner) | Used a personal laptop (shared with Weiner) to print emails from her Yahoo account, which contained some Clinton-related messages. || No BlackBerry involved | Abedin used multiple devices over the years, including a State Department BlackBerry (for official email), but never synced or backed it up to Weiner’s laptop. || FBI Discovery (Sept 2016) | During an unrelated investigation into Weiner’s sexting scandal, the FBI seized his laptop and found ~650,000 emails, including some from Abedin’s accounts. || Clinton Emails Found | ~2,800 of those emails were work-related (from Abedin’s time at State), some forwarded from Clinton’s private server. None came from a BlackBerry backup. |
> Source: FBI Vault releases, Comey letters to Congress (Oct–Nov 2016), IG Report (2018).
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Why the BlackBerry Confusion?
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Abedin had a State-issued BlackBerry → People assumed her emails came from it.
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Misreported in media → Some outlets said “BlackBerry emails” were on the laptop (false).
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Technical ignorance → Most don’t know BlackBerry backups use
.ipd/.bbbfiles and require Desktop Manager — none of which existed on Weiner’s MacBook.
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Technical Reality Check
| Requirement | Present on Weiner’s Laptop? ||-----------|----------------------------|| BlackBerry Desktop Software | No || .ipd or .bbb backup file | No || USB sync logs from a BlackBerry | No || BlackBerry device ever connected | No |
> The laptop was a MacBook Pro running macOS. BlackBerry software was Windows-only in 2016 (Mac version discontinued earlier).
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Bottom Line
> BlackBerry files were never saved to Anthony Weiner’s laptop
> The emails found were regular email files (PST/EML) from Abedin’s Yahoo and Clintonemail.com accounts — not BlackBerry data.
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Want Proof?
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FBI 302 Reports (publicly released): No mention of BlackBerry software or backups.
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DOJ IG Report (June 2018): Confirms emails were from email archives, not device backups.
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Comey Testimony (2017): “We found them in the normal course of reviewing the laptop.”
Let me know if you want links to the original FBI documents.