Handling it internally was precluded by the fact that Swartz had no association with MIT. He was never a student there. There was no way for them to handle it

Handling it internally was precluded by the fact that Swartz had no association with MIT. He was never a student there. There was no way for them to handle it internally. He was also caught by the MIT Police which has full state-vested arrest power, so I'm not sure if there's any turning back from the legal system at that point.