Investigators looking into reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer hacking allegations never inspected her work computers, a detail many news organizations downplayed this weekend while reporting that federal officials were unable to substantiate Attkisson's claim.

Attkisson, a longtime investigative reporter who worked for CBS until last March, alleges that her personal and work computers were hacked as she was publishing unflattering reports regarding the Obama White House and its handling of international events. Attkisson filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice in November 2014, requesting federal officials surrender all documents regarding the FBI’s investigation into the hacking matter.

Separately, and at Attkisson’s request, DOJ’s office of inspector general, which is operated independently of the federal law enforcement agency, investigated her hacking allegations.

Attkisson willingly provided federal investigators with her personal computer, which she had already hired a private technician to inspect. However, under advisement from her attorney, Attkisson did not also provide federal inspectors with the private technician's findings.

In a report released in late January, DOJ’s inspector general that it “was not able to substantiate the allegations that Attkisson’s computers were subject to remote intrusion by the FBI, other government personnel, or otherwise.”

The DOJ never looked at Attkisson's CBS work computers, only her personal devices.

“The OIG’s forensic examination of Attkisson’s personal iMac computer found no evidence of remote intrusion although we did find numerous artifacts indicating that a live search of the iMac’s system logs had been conducted by a technician on February 2, 2013,” the report said. “This activity also could have deleted and overwritten log data on the iMac, which could have obscured potential evidence of unauthorized access.”

But in a detail most news reports left out or soft-pedaled, it turns out Attkisson's then-bosses at CBS News did not provide her work computers for inspection.

“In January 2014, CBS News advised OIG that it was declining the OIG’s request that it voluntarily enable the OIG to examine and analyze the CBS News laptop computers used by Attkisson. CBS News also informed the OIG that is was declining the OIG’s request that it voluntarily provide the OIG with a copy of [redacted] forensic examination report,” the report reads.

CBS News told federal investigators that it had conducted its own review and that it was satisfied with the findings. Like Attkisson, CBS News also declined to provide the inspector general with a report detailing its findings.

Therefore, having reviewed what it determined to be all relevant materials, the inspector general concluded the investigation, noting in its report that the matter is “subject to reopening in the event additional information or materials are made available for our review.”

Despite that caveat and the fact that investigators were never granted access to Attkisson’s work computers, headlines over the weekend suggested federal officials had successfully put the computer intrusion case to rest.

“Justice Department’s IG report disputes Attkisson’s computer-intrusion allegations,” the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple reported, who was careful to note, however, that there is likely “much more to come on this.”

“Justice Dept. Disputes Reporter's Hacking Claims,” the Associated Press said a report that doesn’t mention that investigators never inspected her work computers until the fifth paragraph.

The online news site Mediaite added: “DOJ Inspector General Report Finds No Evidence for Attkisson’s Hacking Claims.”

The Hill reported, “Watchdog: Attkisson wasn’t hacked, had 'delete' key stuck,” failing to note the CBS work computer issue until the final paragraph.

With zero mention of her uninspected work computers, the far-left Salon said in a report: “A right-wing hack undone: Sharyl Attkisson’s White House ‘hacking’ allegation takes a hit.”

Attkisson and her attorney dispute the widespread characterization of the inspector general’s findings.

"The IG report closed because they never got to see the computer at issue and could therefore not conduct an investigation of that computer,” Attkisson’s attorney, Tab Turner, told the Washington Examiner’s media desk Tuesday.

Separately, Attkisson told the Examiner: “The IG did not rule out computer intrusions. It did not substantiate but neither did it rule out.”

Turner continued, criticizing the press for what he said was a gross misrepresentation of the facts in a case that had the Obama Justice Department examining claims by a reporter known for her sharply critical of administration actions, including its response to the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

“It’s almost as if the reporters who wrote about it failed to even read the IG's report. In short, CBS would not release the infected computer to the IG. Although I was not part of that decision-making process, my guess is that CBS didn't see the value in handing over evidence to the government since the government was the alleged source of the infection to begin with. Much like the proverbial fox guarding the hen-house,” he said.

“As a consequence, we were told (via email) that the IG was simply closing the investigation. They subsequently — yet very artfully — wrote a report that the referenced reporters parlayed into ridiculous and untrue stories,” he added.

He added that neither he nor Attkisson were given a copy of the inspector general’s report. They plan to continue their lawsuit against the DOJ, seeking all records regarding the alleged computer intrusion.