I don't disagree with anything you've said, and I don't think I really have any significant difference of opinion on the matter as a whole either. I'm just poi

I don't disagree with anything you've said, and I don't think I really have any significant difference of opinion on the matter as a whole either. I'm just pointing out what seems to be an unfortunate hole they've dug for themselves by undermining their own trustworthiness - or perhaps a hole some agencies have dug and others are now falling into. And to be clear, I don't think they've sunk so low that "the FBI is framing NK" is anything but a garden variety conspiracy theory at this point, but "the FBI is rushing a very complex analysis under heavy political pressure" is plausible to me, as is "the FBI has strong evidence that they are not willing to show us". Ultimately, assuming they do have classified evidence, there's also a cost-benefit consideration to be made - it doesn't have to be a given that they can't release it. I don't think this describes the present situation, but depending on the scale of the response a situation calls for, compromising one or two classified methods or sources in order to get public support for the appropriate action may be the lesser of two evils.