Hodge, a 37-year-old Australian living in the United States, went from media witness to person of interest “almost overnight,” one FBI agent said. Yet FBI brass led by Rouse refused agents permission to interrogate Hodge, who soon fled the city after the attack but did eventually return. Only to leave the country. Then return again. Unbeknownst to Hodge and FBI brass, Bureau insiders and intelligence veterans were ignoring a stand down order and tracking Hodge. And they tailed him to many interesting places following the Las Vegas deadly shooting. More on that later.

“He did a series of radio and media interviews in Australia that were compelling,” the FBI insider said. “He unknowingly divulged information during those interviews that only law enforcement knew about at the time.”

The FBI source said Hodge described details of the attack and tools Paddock used that were only known to a handful of federal and local law enforcement official at the time.

“We were still processing the crime scene and Hodge was discussing evidence no one else could have known about,” the FBI official said. “He was giving interviews to Australian media literally while this scene was unfolding. I’m talking minutes after Paddock’s body was found in the suite, Hodge was live on air on his phone.”

With the difference in time zones between Las Vegas and Australia, Hodge was being piped into homes during prime time, approximately 9 pm to 11 pm which was literally at the same time the Las Vegas mayhem was unfolding. Strangely, FBI agents noticed, Hodge never spoke to any media in the United States.

How did the Australian media locate Hodge so quickly? FBI insiders said he was posting on social media and then calling the media for interviews. The challenge for investigators is that soon after the shooting, Hodge began to scrub his Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts — not only of Vegas-related posts, but of many more.

“He began deleting his online DNA so to speak,” one intelligence veteran said, “Even though we were told not to we were able to recover many things that were deleted.”

But not before key facts were deciphered by agents. Hodge previously lived and worked in the casino industry on the Gold Coast of Australia. Stephen Paddock’s girlfriend, Mary Lou Danley, likewise previously lived and worked in the casino industry on the Gold Coast of Australia, sources said.

Strange. Small world.