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I had a General tell me once, “If you’re explaining, you’re loosing.” Normally I wouldn’t waste my time responding to smears promulgated by anyone associated with Bellingcat, especially when the mouthpiece is Elliot Higgins himself.
For Higgins and his ilk, it’s not the truth that matters, but rather a desired outcome, and it appears the goal of his most recent fascination with my biography is de-platforming, praising the collapse of a panel I was to be part of and targeting my work for RT.
Higgins once again seeks to draw attention to my 2011 conviction resulting from criminal allegations pertaining to online activity that took place in February 2009. In this, Higgins is correct—I was found guilty at trial, and sentenced to serve 5 1/2 years in State prison.
None of this is news—anyone who Googles my name, or reads my Wikipedia page, will find these very facts laid out in black and white. The fact that two members of the panel feign ignorance of this conviction merely points to insufficient due diligence on their part.
What Higgins won’t speak of is the fact that I have consistently maintained my innocence, and pled such at trial knowing I was facing up to 40 years imprisonment, and after being offered a deal which would have resulted in no time served. Innocent men don’t plead guilty.
The trial was highly politicized, with the judge disallowing exculpatory evidence (a forensic analysis of my computer hard drive that showed zero criminal activity), while admitting illegally unsealed files which were cherry picked by the prosecution to manufacture their case.
I was found guilty at trial. While imprisoned, I was told that I would not be paroled unless I admitted guilt. This I refused to do. After making my case to the prison authorities, I was paroled despite never having pled guilty. (Innocent men don’t plead guilty.)
I appealed my conviction, at great personal expense, at both the State and Federal level, eventually taking it to the US Supreme Court. Ultimately, the courts rejected my appeal—the legal reasoning is beyond the scope of this tweet. I have never wavered in asserting my innocence.
I have to live with the reality of my conviction, but I do so knowing I was wrongly charged and convicted. Anyone who thinks the US legal system is incapable of gross error or politicized outcome is naive. I am innocent of the alleged crimes—that is the simple truth.
For those who can accept this, I look forward to our continued constructive engagement on this and other platforms. For those who cannot, exit stage right—your presence is not wanted or needed. As for Mr. Higgins, I’ll let history judge which among us has behaved honorably.
