Cardinals Hacker Insists That Astros Stole Information First

A statement criticizing MLB’s investigation into the Cardinals hacking scandal was posted by a Twitter account that appears to be from Chris Correa, the currently incarcerated former scouting director who accessed the Astros’ internal player information database more that 50 times in 16 months.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Correa wrote the statement before self-surrendering in August 2016 at a medium-security prison in Cumberland, Md., and had his family release it through his Twitter account after MLB issued the results of its investigation yesterday.

In his statement, Correa disputed MLB’s characterization that he did not cooperate with the investigation, and doubled down on his claim that he logged into the Astros’ database because he believed they had stolen proprietary information from the Cardinals.

Boldly, Correa said: “The Cardinals were not the organization that benefitted from unauthorized access.”

Federal prosecutors disagreed with that assessment, noting in a court document unsealed last week that there’s little chance Correa was looking for stolen information while he was pawing through the Astros’ plans for the 2013 trade deadline.

The Astros declined to comment on Correa’s statement, and the Cardinals did not return calls for comment. Correa’s attorney, David Adler, also did not respond to a call and an email for comment and clarification.

Following Correa’s statement, MLB issued the following rebuttal:

The Office of the Commissioner made the decision in the spring of 2015 for sound legal reasons to defer its investigation of the incursions into the Astros’ systems, including interviewing Mr. Correa and witnesses, as a result of the ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Mr. Correa and potential witnesses were informed of our decision to defer our investigation until the government completed its investigation and any criminal charges against Mr. Correa were adjudicated. Upon the conclusion of the federal investigation, during July and August 2016, the Department of Investigations repeatedly requested Mr. Correa’s cooperation through his attorney. On July 21, 2016, Mr. Correa was informed directly that he would be placed on the permanently ineligible list if he did not cooperate with the Department of Investigations. Mr. Correa not only steadfastly refused to answer any questions, but also opposed the release of any documents by the government to the Office of the Commissioner. On August 23, 2016, Mr. Correa’s attorney told the Department of Investigations that Mr. Correa was not interested in ‘providing any information directly or indirectly to MLB.’ The Department of Investigations was not provided evidence to substantiate the other allegations contained in Mr. Correa’s letter, but remains willing to meet with Mr. Correa at any time.