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'''James Gordon Meek''' (born 1968) is an former [[ABC News]] producer and senior counterterrorism advisor of the U.S. [[House Committee on Homeland Security]]<ref name=ABC>{{cite news |author1=David Ford |title=ABC News Expands its Award-Winning Investigative Unit |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/04/abc-news-expands-its-award-winning-investigative-unit |access-date=22 October 2022 |work=[[ABC News]] |date=29 April 2013 |quote= }}</ref><ref name=SS /> until his 2023 arrest by the [[FBI]] on charges related to the inter-state transport of videos depicting him raping a toddler, in addition to other evidence of sexual abuse of children ranging from infancy to teenhood.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-arrested-transporting-images-child-sexual-abuse|title=Man Arrested for Transporting Images of Child Sexual Abuse|date=February 1, 2023|website=[[US Department of Justice]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Ted |date=2023-02-01 |title=Former ABC News Producer Arrested On Charge Of Transporting Child Pornography |url=https://deadline.com/2023/02/abc-news-producer-arrested-child-pornography-1235246591/ |access-date=2023-02-01 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref><ref name="FBI">FBI Complaint, [https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1566416/download United States v. James Gordon Meek, Case No 1:23-MJ-32], 23 January, 2023.</ref><ref name="beasttied">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/fbi-raid-on-abc-news-producer-james-gordon-meek-wasnt-tied-to-his-work|title=FBI Raid on ABC News Bigshot Producer Wasn't Tied to His Work|first=Lachlan|last=Cartwright|newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=October 24, 2022|via=www.thedailybeast.com}}</ref> It was revealed the FBI had waited nearly two years after becoming aware of his [[child sexual abuse]] videos before they arrested him.<ref name="FBI" /> When denying him [[bail]], judge [[Rossie D. Alston Jr.]] commented that it was clear Meek had been [[sexual grooming|sexually grooming]] children, including by posing as a young girl himself on the internet.<ref name="stone2" /><ref name="wapo" /> |
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'''James Gordon Meek''' (born 1968) is an American journalist who formerly worked for [[ABC News]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/fbi-raid-on-abc-news-producer-james-gordon-meek-wasnt-tied-to-his-work|title=FBI Raid on ABC News Bigshot Producer Wasn't Tied to His Work|first=Lachlan|last=Cartwright|newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=October 24, 2022|via=www.thedailybeast.com}}</ref> |
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Midway through his years-long crime spree, Meek had published a story highlighting a quote he attributed to an anonymous source that authorities did not care if powerful people had [[child sexual abuse]] images, because they are too valuable to arrest.<ref>https://twitter.com/meekwire/status/ {{Cite tweet |user=meekwire |number=982231536698191874 |title="Nobody was looking for his child porn case. Nobody cared about that stuff at all back then. He was providing too invaluable a service to us."}}</ref> Years earlier he had published another quote attributed to an anonymous source saying "the government is capitalizing on America's fears over faceless enemies in cyberspace".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://irp.fas.org/news/1999/08/cyber0829_01.htm | title=Cyberterror: Thing That Goes Bump in the Net? }}</ref> |
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He was a writer and narrator for the 2021 Emmy-nominated documentary film ''[[3212 Un-redacted]]''<ref>{{cite news |author1=BEATRICE VERHOEVEN |title=2022 News & Documentary Emmy Nominations Revealed |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/national-academy-of-tv-arts-sciences-announces-2022-news-documentary-emmy-nominees-1235188293/ |access-date=22 October 2022 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=28 July 2022 |quote=Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary 3212 Un-Redacted ABC}}</ref> which detailed the [[Tongo Tongo ambush]], an ambush of Green Berets in [[Niger]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/movies/3212-un-redacted-review.html|title='3212 Un-Redacted' Review: Trying to Solve a Mission's Mysteries|first=Ben|last=Kenigsberg|work=The New York Times |date=November 11, 2021|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> |
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==Personal and work life== |
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In 2006, reporting for the ''[[New York Daily News|Daily News]]'', Meek was the first journalist to report on that year's [[Al Qaeda]]-organized [[Hudson River bomb plot]]. From 2011, Meek was a senior counterterrorism advisor and investigator for the U.S. [[House Committee on Homeland Security]], where he investigated, among other terrorist acts, the [[Boston Marathon bombing]].<ref name=ABC>{{cite news |author1=David Ford |title=ABC News Expands its Award-Winning Investigative Unit |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/04/abc-news-expands-its-award-winning-investigative-unit |access-date=22 October 2022 |work=[[ABC News]] |date=29 April 2013 |quote= }}</ref><ref name=SS /> [[Simon & Schuster]] has stated that Meek spent five years investigating the [[death of Dave Sharrett II]].<ref name=SS>{{cite book |title=Operation Pineapple Express |date=August 30, 2022 |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Operation-Pineapple-Express/Scott-Mann/9781668003534 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=9781668003534 |access-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117101323/https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Operation-Pineapple-Express/Scott-Mann/9781668003534 |archive-date=17 January 2022 |language=en |quote=James Gordon Meek is an award-winning investigative journalist for ABC News and a former Senior Counterterrorism Advisor and Investigator for the House Committee on Homeland Security [...] conducted a five-year investigation into the fratricidal death in Iraq of Army Pfc. David H. Sharrett II}}</ref> |
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[[File:Tolbert Nixon 1973.jpg|thumb|Among his many roles, John Martin Meek had handled the public relations for Liberian President [[William Tolbert]]'s 1973 meeting with US President [[Richard Nixon]].<ref>US State Dept, [https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=1877&dt=2472&dl=1345 Tolbert Visit 1973], declassified 1994</ref>]] |
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James Meek is the son of John Martin Meek, the former head of [[Edelman (firm)|Edelman International]] and a [[speechwriter]] for Presidents [[Lyndon Johnson]] and [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref>O'Dwyer's PR News, [https://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/6514/2016-03-14/meek-former-edelman-executive-washington-speechwriter-dies-at-86.html Meek, Former Edelman Executive and Washington Speechwriter Dies at 86], 2016</ref> John Martin Meek had also served as Director of Congressional Relations for the [[Democratic National Committee]].<ref>[https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0019/4520783.pdf Officers of Edelman Investment Relations], Pg85/124</ref><ref>[https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1976-pt3/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1976-pt3-6-2.pdf JMM Registered as Lobbyist], [[Aerospatiale].</ref> His deceased older brother had worked as a Congressional aide, and his sister had worked as a journalist.<ref name="book" /> |
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James Meek had been granted a [[scholarship]] to study film-making at [[Virginia Commonwealth University]] but dropped out after only a year.<ref name="book" /> He later got his start as a print journalist at the age of 31 publishing his father and his father's colleagues in a [[webzine]] named Gridlock Mag "several years before he made the transition from cyberspace to real world journalism".<ref name="book">Meek, John Martin. "I Might Just Be Right", November 2005. Pages 29,84,87,114,132,155.</ref> He had worked with the [[Blender (magazine)|CD-ROM Magazine "Blender"]], which offered him accredition with the [[Periodical Press Galleries of the United States Congress|Periodical Press Galleries]].<ref name="spj">Society of Professional Journalists, [https://www.spj.org/pdf/pkr2000.pdf Credentialing for Online Journalists], October 2000</ref> Meek and his partner Mike Rosenberg used the Gridlock webzine to apply for accredition to the Senate Periodical Press Gallery but were denied on the basis the webzine could not be a primary source of income for the pair.<ref name="spj" /> |
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Meek resigned from his position as an investigative producer for ABC News on April 27, 2022, the same day the [[FBI]] raided his home. As a result of the search, he was arrested on January 31, 2023, for "transportation of images of [[child sexual abuse]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-arrested-transporting-images-child-sexual-abuse|title=Man Arrested for Transporting Images of Child Sexual Abuse|date=February 1, 2023|website=[[US Department of Justice]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Ted |date=2023-02-01 |title=Former ABC News Producer Arrested On Charge Of Transporting Child Pornography |url=https://deadline.com/2023/02/abc-news-producer-arrested-child-pornography-1235246591/ |access-date=2023-02-01 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> |
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{{Rquote|left|"If you get the Capitol Hill credential, you're in," said James Gordon Meek, Blender's Washington correspondent. "It's golden."<br /><br />"I don't go down to the Capitol every day, but having [press credentials] is great and it's something we're exploring in terms of access," says Meek, a former art student who happily admits his only connection with his subject is his father, who coordinated the [[1968 Democratic Convention]] in Chicago.|Meek's DCi News' and Gridlock interviews of himself.|DCi News, [https://web.archive.org/web/20030324201611/http://www.gridlockmag.com/press/articles.html Cyber journalist gets credentials for the Capitol]}} |
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Meek and Rosenberg then tried to found "Digital Culture Interactive News" which wrote stories about their Gridlock webzine,<ref>Rogers, Jim. "Facing Terror: The Government's Response to Contemporary Extremists in America", Page 104</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=1193 | title=American Journalism Review - Archives }}</ref> and he ended up sending submissions to [[Readers Digest]] and [[Ladies Home Journal]] for the money they sent readers who submit amusing anecdotes. He also started an unsuccessful "Spookhouse Media Services". On Election Night 1996, both Rosenberg and Meek were in the [[Bob Dole]] Media Center.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gridlockmag.com/miker.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030419121514/http://www.gridlockmag.com/miker.html | archive-date=April 19, 2003 | title=DCi Newshound Mike Rosenberg }}</ref> He bemoaned in 2001 that he "has always been skilled at attracting unwarranted attention to himself",<ref>{{cite web | url=http://gridlockmag.com/crew.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010415060200/http://gridlockmag.com/crew.html | archive-date=April 15, 2001 | title=Gridlock & Load | Crew }}</ref> and was later characterized as a "towering 6'7", gregarious punk rock art student-turned investigative reporter".<!-- <ref name="mail">https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11374411/Missing-ABC-producer-James-Gordon-Meek-seen-public-time-FBI-raid.html</ref> --> |
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Critics had labelled him a "military fanboy" for his infatuation reporting on the armed forces,<ref name="new">[[The New American]], https://thenewamerican.com/journalist-disappeared-after-fbi-raided-his-home-seeking-classified-info/</ref> which his father said dated back to his childhood love of the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="book" /> Colleagues would later note his background "was often shrouded in mystery", referencing he had [[stolen valor]] by claiming he had served in the military although he had not, and was known for being "dressed in his typical military-style getup".<ref name="fox" /><!-- <ref name="mail" /> --> |
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Meek reported that he had "a deep friendship" with the father of [[Kidnapping of Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman|Caitlan Coleman]],<ref name="obit">[[ABC News]], [https://abcnews.go.com/US/jim-coleman-father-taliban-hostage-man-honor-reporters/story?id=78998031 Jim Coleman was a man of honor: Reporter's Notebook], July 27 2021</ref> and was co-authoring a fiction book with Colonel Scott Mann.<ref name="moss">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/fbi-raid-abc-news_producer-1234613619/ | title=FBI Raids Star ABC News Producer's Home | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=October 24, 2022 }}</ref> In 2008, Meek was sued by [[Jonathan Lee Riches]].<ref>https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-wvnd-1_08-cv-00059/pdf/USCOURTS-wvnd-1_08-cv-00059-0.pdf</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca4/08-7304 | title=Jonathan Riches v. James Meek }}</ref> |
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Meek married US Congressional Staffer Jessica Lenard at [[Woodlawn (Alexandria, Virginia)|Woodlawn Plantation]] following six years of dating after meeting at his father's staff Christmas party, and she became a lobbyist and served as aide to Senator [[Dick Durbin]].<ref>https://rollcall.com/2007/09/21/a-crack-lobbyist/</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/rev_summary.php?id=70452 | title=Revolving Door: Jessica Lenard Employment Summary | OpenSecrets }}</ref><ref name="book" /> They are divorced and have two daughters.<ref name="beastraid" /><!--Lenard divorced him citing [[infidelity]] in 2011, with Meek registering a separate complaint she had punched him in the testicles when he "wouldn't agree to a divorce".<ref name="mail2">https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11702063/Ex-ABC-News-reporter-charged-transporting-child-porn-nine-months-went-hiding.html</ref>--> |
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He appeared as a panelist at the Double Exposure Film Festival in 2021 related to his work on the documentary ''3212 Un-redacted'' on the [[Tongo Tongo ambush]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/movies/3212-un-redacted-review.html|title='3212 Un-Redacted' Review: Trying to Solve a Mission's Mysteries|first=Ben|last=Kenigsberg|work=The New York Times |date=November 11, 2021|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://watch.eventive.org/doubleexposure/play/6148dc227a0abe0077602ddf | title=3212 UN-REDACTED | Double Exposure Film Festival 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=BEATRICE VERHOEVEN |title=2022 News & Documentary Emmy Nominations Revealed |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/national-academy-of-tv-arts-sciences-announces-2022-news-documentary-emmy-nominees-1235188293/ |access-date=22 October 2022 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=28 July 2022 |quote=Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary 3212 Un-Redacted ABC}}</ref>, and investigated the [[death of Dave Sharrett II]], whose father had taught Meek at [[Langley High School]].<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/a-closer-look-at-those-in-the-dave-sharrett-case/2012/02/24/gIQAOQbSaR_blog.html</ref><ref name=SS>{{cite book |title=Operation Pineapple Express |date=August 30, 2022 |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Operation-Pineapple-Express/Scott-Mann/9781668003534 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=9781668003534 |access-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117101323/https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Operation-Pineapple-Express/Scott-Mann/9781668003534 |archive-date=17 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> |
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==Investigation and arrest== |
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[[File:Columbia Pike DSC 4253 (5032694081).jpg|thumb|The building where Meek lived at the time of the first search warrant<ref name="FBI" />]] |
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In March 2021, [[Dropbox]] had alerted authorities that Meek's account, named "James Meek" and matching his [[IP Address]], had uploaded five videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.<ref name="FBI" /> The resulting investigation was run by the FBI and the [[Arlington County Police Department]], with cooperation from the [[National Center for Missing and Exploited Children]] under the banner of [[Project Safe Childhood]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-arrested-transporting-images-child-sexual-abuse | title=Man Arrested for Transporting Images of Child Sexual Abuse | date=February 2023 }}</ref> |
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After 13 months, a [[search warrant]] was obtained for Meek's [[Virginia]] home. It was raided on April 27 2022 by the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in DC.<ref name="FBI" /> |
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The FBI seized an [[iPhone 8]] named "Bone Machine" on which Meek had "expressed enthusiasm for the sexual abuse of children" and both sent and received images of child sexual abuse through [[Kik]].<ref name="FBI" /><ref>[[Keybase]], [https://keybase.io/meekwire/devices Meekwire: Bone Machine], 7 September 2019.</ref> Meek had boasted that a younger woman had planned to have a child with him so they could jointly partake in sexually abusing the infant when born.<ref name="FBI" /> |
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The oldest images of child pornography referenced by the FBI in their criminal complaint were saved to Meek's devices in 2014, and the most recent were from 2022.<ref name="FBI" /><ref name="recap">USA v James Gordon Meek, [https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca4.170375/gov.uscourts.ca4.170375.5.1.pdf Memorandum Brief of Appellant], February 21 2023</ref> |
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By 2016, Meek was using [[Omegle]] to seek out sexual contact with minors. In one instance, he is seen holding his penis in his left hand while speaking to a self-identified 14-year old, and in another screenshot he is nude as is the 15-year old girl with whom he is chatting.<ref name="FBI" /> Meek had also used [[Instagram]] to impersonate a female adolescent himself, and then messaged actual children to solicit nude photographs from them.<ref name="FBI" /> |
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The seized iPhone 6 and iPhone 8 together showed Meek had been using [[Snapchat]] in 2019 under the username "hoolijax" to ask a pubescent girl about who she loved most in the world, and then convinced her that he knew the public figure and could facilitate contact, but then [[sextortion|sextorted]] her to send many nude photos.<ref name="FBI" /><ref name="times">{{cite web | url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/feb/1/james-gordon-meek-ex-abc-news-journalist-charged-i/ | title=Ex-ABC News journalist charged in child sexual exploitation case | website=[[The Washington Times]] }}</ref> |
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Under the name "Pawny4", Meek and another man had exchanged photographs of their penises in 2020 and discussed raping a group of children in a [[Child sexual abuse material|CSAM]] photograph Meek had sent.<ref name="FBI" /> During that conversation, Meek referenced he had raped a female toddler. The two men engaged in homosexual banter, and Meek sent a video depicting "an erect penis penetrating the anus of a female infant. Throughout the duration of the video, the infant can be heard loudly crying and screaming."<ref name="FBI" /> |
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With another stranger, Meek had sent the same video of the infant being raped as well as a photo of a nude woman with two infants, and a photograph of a prepubescent girl on the beach with her chest exposed whom he fantasized about forcing to perform [[fellatio]].<ref name="FBI" /> Meek mused about raping an infant girl anally but still having access to rape her vaginally when she turned 3, and sent four more photos showing semen on the stomach of a young girl.<ref name="FBI" /> |
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[[File:James Gordon Meek Arrest Warrant.png|thumb|2023 arrest warrant for James Meek]] |
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The phone also contained more than 100 other CSAM images, evidence he had used [[Telegram]] to send further CSAM images and a separate video.<ref name="FBI" /> A 2TB [[external hard drive]] "Pipehitter" contained 58 child sexual abuse files, which showed Meek had been in a Telegram Messaging chat titled "Cocks, Cunts and Kids" where he shared a video in April 2020 depicting a young girl performing fellatio, with a note that he was not as prolific an offender as others,<ref name="FBI" /> and a [[BDSM]] image of a prepubescent boy.<ref name="FBI" /> An [[Apple]] laptop had another 90 images of child sexual abuse, "including a scene where an adult female places her tongue on a naked toddler’s vagina and a scene where an adult male inserts his penis into a toddler’s vagina".<ref name="FBI" /> |
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Following this raid, Meek "resigned very abruptly" from [[ABC News]] and public life.<ref name="fox">{{cite web | url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/abc-news-reporter-james-gordon-meek-resigned-very-abruptly-following-alleged-fbi-raid-of-home | title=ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek 'resigned very abruptly' following alleged FBI raid of home | website=[[Fox News]] | date=October 19, 2022 }}</ref> His lawyer Eugene Gorokhov claimed anonymous rumors were suggesting that the FBI raid had been seeking [[classified documents]] related to Meek's work as a journalist and national security advisor - however this was doubtful as new legislation had just passed the previous year which would've required [[Deputy Attorney General]] [[Lisa Monaco]] to sign off on any raid seeking journalistic materials.<ref name="fox" /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://nypost.com/2022/10/19/journalist-james-gordon-meek-missing-since-fbi-seized-classified-docs-in-home-raid-report/ | title=Journalist James Gordon Meek missing since FBI 'seized classified docs' in home raid: Report | date=October 19, 2022 }}</ref> |
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Described by [[Rolling Stone]] as a "52-year-old bear of a man [at] the height of his powers and the pinnacle of his profession", Meek's flight sparked rumors he was "missing" and "disappeared" in media accounts, as his apartment had been vacated.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nypost.com/2022/10/19/journalist-james-gordon-meek-missing-since-fbi-seized-classified-docs-in-home-raid-report/ | title=Journalist James Gordon Meek missing since FBI 'seized classified docs' in home raid: Report | date=October 19, 2022 }}</ref><ref name="beastraid">{{cite web | url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/producer-james-gordon-meek-disappeared-after-fbi-raid-rolling-stone-reports | title=Producer James Gordon Meek Vanished After FBI Raid: Report | website=[[The Daily Beast]] | date=October 19, 2022 }}</ref>[[The New American]] theorised that Meek may have commit suicide following the raid, and deemed plausible the "dark speculation" that he could've been arrested by the [[Biden Administration]] and taken to a [[CIA blacksite]].<ref name="new" /> [[Glenn Beck]] offered that the disappearance was the biggest story of the year.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDd52BPMB3M&ab_channel=GlennBeck | title=Glenn: 'DISAPPEARED' reporter is the year's BIGGEST STORY | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref> |
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Meek had packed up his Arlington home and moved in with his elderly mother in [[Mclean, Virginia]]and cooperated with the [[James Foley (journalist)|James Foley Foundation]] to remove promotional material celebrating him for receiving their 2023 journalism award,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://thepostmillennial.com/missing-abc-producer-spotted-for-first-time-in-months-after-fbi-raid | title=Missing ABC producer spotted for first time in months after FBI raid }}</ref><ref name="indy" /> Media sources noted that the rumors he had been targeted for his work as a journalist appeared unlikely as his former employers had not offered any legal intervention or even made a statement supporting their former producer.<ref name="indy">{{cite web | url=https://www.glennbeck.com/radio/glenn-disappeared-reporter-is-the-year-s-biggest-story | title=Glenn: 'DISAPPEARED' reporter is the year's BIGGEST STORY - Glenn Beck }}</ref> Friends and colleagues consistently reported that he had simply "vanished", with either no explanation or a vague reference to personal reasons.<ref name="beasttied" /><ref>https://www.foxnews.com/media/abc-news-reporter-james-gordon-meek-resigned-very-abruptly-following-alleged-fbi-raid-of-home</ref> |
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On November 14 2022, the FBI obtained a second search warrant for Meek's [[iCloud]] account which had been linked to many of his devices found in the earlier raid.<ref name="FBI" /> He was arrested January 31, 2023 on the basis of an FBI complaint which redacted names to avoid compromising investigations of other suspects who had communicated with Meek.<ref name="FBI" /> Prosecutors appealed his immediate request for [[bail]] which resulted in a determination he would be held in prison until trial.<ref name="stone2">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/james-meek-abc-detained-trial-1234675109/ | title=Former ABC News Producer to be Detained Until Trial on Child Pornography Charges | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=February 7, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-arrested-transporting-images-child-sexual-abuse | title=Man Arrested for Transporting Images of Child Sexual Abuse | date=February 2023 }}</ref> At his bail hearing, his lawyer reminded the Court that Meek "advised top congressional leaders and held a top-secret clearance".<ref name="wapo" /> Several people unsuccessfully wrote letters as [[character witness]]es for Meek's bail application including a police veteran, a former FBI [[special agent]], and the former head of [[National Security]] for the FBI Marion "Spike" Bowman.<ref name="wapo">https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/06/james-meek-abc-news-detained-pending-trial/</ref><ref>https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca4.170375/gov.uscourts.ca4.170375.5.1.pdf</ref> He faces a [[mandatory minimum]] of five years in prison if convicted on the inter-state transport charge, and a maximum of 20 years.<ref name="stone2" /><ref name="times" /> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{US-journalist-1960s-stub}} |
Revision as of 22:24, 4 March 2023
James Gordon Meek | |
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Born | 1968 (age 55–56) |
Citizenship | American |
Occupation | Journalist |
James Gordon Meek (born 1968) is an former ABC News producer and senior counterterrorism advisor of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security[1][2] until his 2023 arrest by the FBI on charges related to the inter-state transport of videos depicting him raping a toddler, in addition to other evidence of sexual abuse of children ranging from infancy to teenhood.[3][4][5][6] It was revealed the FBI had waited nearly two years after becoming aware of his child sexual abuse videos before they arrested him.[5] When denying him bail, judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. commented that it was clear Meek had been sexually grooming children, including by posing as a young girl himself on the internet.[7][8]
Midway through his years-long crime spree, Meek had published a story highlighting a quote he attributed to an anonymous source that authorities did not care if powerful people had child sexual abuse images, because they are too valuable to arrest.[9] Years earlier he had published another quote attributed to an anonymous source saying "the government is capitalizing on America's fears over faceless enemies in cyberspace".[10]
Personal and work life
James Meek is the son of John Martin Meek, the former head of Edelman International and a speechwriter for Presidents Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy.[12] John Martin Meek had also served as Director of Congressional Relations for the Democratic National Committee.[13][14] His deceased older brother had worked as a Congressional aide, and his sister had worked as a journalist.[15]
James Meek had been granted a scholarship to study film-making at Virginia Commonwealth University but dropped out after only a year.[15] He later got his start as a print journalist at the age of 31 publishing his father and his father's colleagues in a webzine named Gridlock Mag "several years before he made the transition from cyberspace to real world journalism".[15] He had worked with the CD-ROM Magazine "Blender", which offered him accredition with the Periodical Press Galleries.[16] Meek and his partner Mike Rosenberg used the Gridlock webzine to apply for accredition to the Senate Periodical Press Gallery but were denied on the basis the webzine could not be a primary source of income for the pair.[16]
"If you get the Capitol Hill credential, you're in," said James Gordon Meek, Blender's Washington correspondent. "It's golden."
"I don't go down to the Capitol every day, but having [press credentials] is great and it's something we're exploring in terms of access," says Meek, a former art student who happily admits his only connection with his subject is his father, who coordinated the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.— Meek's DCi News' and Gridlock interviews of himself., DCi News, Cyber journalist gets credentials for the Capitol
Meek and Rosenberg then tried to found "Digital Culture Interactive News" which wrote stories about their Gridlock webzine,[17][18] and he ended up sending submissions to Readers Digest and Ladies Home Journal for the money they sent readers who submit amusing anecdotes. He also started an unsuccessful "Spookhouse Media Services". On Election Night 1996, both Rosenberg and Meek were in the Bob Dole Media Center.[19] He bemoaned in 2001 that he "has always been skilled at attracting unwarranted attention to himself",[20] and was later characterized as a "towering 6'7", gregarious punk rock art student-turned investigative reporter".
Critics had labelled him a "military fanboy" for his infatuation reporting on the armed forces,[21] which his father said dated back to his childhood love of the Vietnam War.[15] Colleagues would later note his background "was often shrouded in mystery", referencing he had stolen valor by claiming he had served in the military although he had not, and was known for being "dressed in his typical military-style getup".[22]
Meek reported that he had "a deep friendship" with the father of Caitlan Coleman,[23] and was co-authoring a fiction book with Colonel Scott Mann.[24] In 2008, Meek was sued by Jonathan Lee Riches.[25][26]
Meek married US Congressional Staffer Jessica Lenard at Woodlawn Plantation following six years of dating after meeting at his father's staff Christmas party, and she became a lobbyist and served as aide to Senator Dick Durbin.[27][28][15] They are divorced and have two daughters.[29]
He appeared as a panelist at the Double Exposure Film Festival in 2021 related to his work on the documentary 3212 Un-redacted on the Tongo Tongo ambush.[30].[31][32], and investigated the death of Dave Sharrett II, whose father had taught Meek at Langley High School.[33][2]
Investigation and arrest
In March 2021, Dropbox had alerted authorities that Meek's account, named "James Meek" and matching his IP Address, had uploaded five videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.[5] The resulting investigation was run by the FBI and the Arlington County Police Department, with cooperation from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children under the banner of Project Safe Childhood.[34]
After 13 months, a search warrant was obtained for Meek's Virginia home. It was raided on April 27 2022 by the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in DC.[5]
The FBI seized an iPhone 8 named "Bone Machine" on which Meek had "expressed enthusiasm for the sexual abuse of children" and both sent and received images of child sexual abuse through Kik.[5][35] Meek had boasted that a younger woman had planned to have a child with him so they could jointly partake in sexually abusing the infant when born.[5]
The oldest images of child pornography referenced by the FBI in their criminal complaint were saved to Meek's devices in 2014, and the most recent were from 2022.[5][36] By 2016, Meek was using Omegle to seek out sexual contact with minors. In one instance, he is seen holding his penis in his left hand while speaking to a self-identified 14-year old, and in another screenshot he is nude as is the 15-year old girl with whom he is chatting.[5] Meek had also used Instagram to impersonate a female adolescent himself, and then messaged actual children to solicit nude photographs from them.[5]
The seized iPhone 6 and iPhone 8 together showed Meek had been using Snapchat in 2019 under the username "hoolijax" to ask a pubescent girl about who she loved most in the world, and then convinced her that he knew the public figure and could facilitate contact, but then sextorted her to send many nude photos.[5][37] Under the name "Pawny4", Meek and another man had exchanged photographs of their penises in 2020 and discussed raping a group of children in a CSAM photograph Meek had sent.[5] During that conversation, Meek referenced he had raped a female toddler. The two men engaged in homosexual banter, and Meek sent a video depicting "an erect penis penetrating the anus of a female infant. Throughout the duration of the video, the infant can be heard loudly crying and screaming."[5]
With another stranger, Meek had sent the same video of the infant being raped as well as a photo of a nude woman with two infants, and a photograph of a prepubescent girl on the beach with her chest exposed whom he fantasized about forcing to perform fellatio.[5] Meek mused about raping an infant girl anally but still having access to rape her vaginally when she turned 3, and sent four more photos showing semen on the stomach of a young girl.[5]
The phone also contained more than 100 other CSAM images, evidence he had used Telegram to send further CSAM images and a separate video.[5] A 2TB external hard drive "Pipehitter" contained 58 child sexual abuse files, which showed Meek had been in a Telegram Messaging chat titled "Cocks, Cunts and Kids" where he shared a video in April 2020 depicting a young girl performing fellatio, with a note that he was not as prolific an offender as others,[5] and a BDSM image of a prepubescent boy.[5] An Apple laptop had another 90 images of child sexual abuse, "including a scene where an adult female places her tongue on a naked toddler’s vagina and a scene where an adult male inserts his penis into a toddler’s vagina".[5]
Following this raid, Meek "resigned very abruptly" from ABC News and public life.[22] His lawyer Eugene Gorokhov claimed anonymous rumors were suggesting that the FBI raid had been seeking classified documents related to Meek's work as a journalist and national security advisor - however this was doubtful as new legislation had just passed the previous year which would've required Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco to sign off on any raid seeking journalistic materials.[22][38]
Described by Rolling Stone as a "52-year-old bear of a man [at] the height of his powers and the pinnacle of his profession", Meek's flight sparked rumors he was "missing" and "disappeared" in media accounts, as his apartment had been vacated.[39][29]The New American theorised that Meek may have commit suicide following the raid, and deemed plausible the "dark speculation" that he could've been arrested by the Biden Administration and taken to a CIA blacksite.[21] Glenn Beck offered that the disappearance was the biggest story of the year.[40]
Meek had packed up his Arlington home and moved in with his elderly mother in Mclean, Virginiaand cooperated with the James Foley Foundation to remove promotional material celebrating him for receiving their 2023 journalism award,[41][42] Media sources noted that the rumors he had been targeted for his work as a journalist appeared unlikely as his former employers had not offered any legal intervention or even made a statement supporting their former producer.[42] Friends and colleagues consistently reported that he had simply "vanished", with either no explanation or a vague reference to personal reasons.[6][43]
On November 14 2022, the FBI obtained a second search warrant for Meek's iCloud account which had been linked to many of his devices found in the earlier raid.[5] He was arrested January 31, 2023 on the basis of an FBI complaint which redacted names to avoid compromising investigations of other suspects who had communicated with Meek.[5] Prosecutors appealed his immediate request for bail which resulted in a determination he would be held in prison until trial.[7][44] At his bail hearing, his lawyer reminded the Court that Meek "advised top congressional leaders and held a top-secret clearance".[8] Several people unsuccessfully wrote letters as character witnesses for Meek's bail application including a police veteran, a former FBI special agent, and the former head of National Security for the FBI Marion "Spike" Bowman.[8][45] He faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison if convicted on the inter-state transport charge, and a maximum of 20 years.[7][37]
References
- ^ David Ford (April 29, 2013). "ABC News Expands its Award-Winning Investigative Unit". ABC News. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
- ^ a b Operation Pineapple Express. Simon & Schuster. August 30, 2022. ISBN 9781668003534. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
- ^ "Man Arrested for Transporting Images of Child Sexual Abuse". US Department of Justice. February 1, 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Ted (February 1, 2023). "Former ABC News Producer Arrested On Charge Of Transporting Child Pornography". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u FBI Complaint, United States v. James Gordon Meek, Case No 1:23-MJ-32, 23 January, 2023.
- ^ a b Cartwright, Lachlan (October 24, 2022). "FBI Raid on ABC News Bigshot Producer Wasn't Tied to His Work". The Daily Beast – via www.thedailybeast.com.
- ^ a b c "Former ABC News Producer to be Detained Until Trial on Child Pornography Charges". Rolling Stone. February 7, 2023.
- ^ a b c https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/06/james-meek-abc-news-detained-pending-trial/
- ^ https://twitter.com/meekwire/status/ @meekwire (April 6, 2018). ""Nobody was looking for his child porn case. Nobody cared about that stuff at all back then. He was providing too invaluable a service to us."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Cyberterror: Thing That Goes Bump in the Net?".
- ^ US State Dept, Tolbert Visit 1973, declassified 1994
- ^ O'Dwyer's PR News, Meek, Former Edelman Executive and Washington Speechwriter Dies at 86, 2016
- ^ Officers of Edelman Investment Relations, Pg85/124
- ^ JMM Registered as Lobbyist, [[Aerospatiale].
- ^ a b c d e Meek, John Martin. "I Might Just Be Right", November 2005. Pages 29,84,87,114,132,155.
- ^ a b Society of Professional Journalists, Credentialing for Online Journalists, October 2000
- ^ Rogers, Jim. "Facing Terror: The Government's Response to Contemporary Extremists in America", Page 104
- ^ "American Journalism Review - Archives".
- ^ "DCi Newshound Mike Rosenberg". Archived from the original on April 19, 2003.
- ^ "Gridlock & Load | Crew". Archived from the original on April 15, 2001.
- ^ a b The New American, https://thenewamerican.com/journalist-disappeared-after-fbi-raided-his-home-seeking-classified-info/
- ^ a b c "ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek 'resigned very abruptly' following alleged FBI raid of home". Fox News. October 19, 2022.
- ^ ABC News, Jim Coleman was a man of honor: Reporter's Notebook, July 27 2021
- ^ "FBI Raids Star ABC News Producer's Home". Rolling Stone. October 24, 2022.
- ^ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-wvnd-1_08-cv-00059/pdf/USCOURTS-wvnd-1_08-cv-00059-0.pdf
- ^ "Jonathan Riches v. James Meek".
- ^ https://rollcall.com/2007/09/21/a-crack-lobbyist/
- ^ "Revolving Door: Jessica Lenard Employment Summary | OpenSecrets".
- ^ a b "Producer James Gordon Meek Vanished After FBI Raid: Report". The Daily Beast. October 19, 2022.
- ^ Kenigsberg, Ben (November 11, 2021). "'3212 Un-Redacted' Review: Trying to Solve a Mission's Mysteries". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "3212 UN-REDACTED | Double Exposure Film Festival 2021".
- ^ BEATRICE VERHOEVEN (July 28, 2022). "2022 News & Documentary Emmy Nominations Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary 3212 Un-Redacted ABC
- ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/a-closer-look-at-those-in-the-dave-sharrett-case/2012/02/24/gIQAOQbSaR_blog.html
- ^ "Man Arrested for Transporting Images of Child Sexual Abuse". February 2023.
- ^ Keybase, Meekwire: Bone Machine, 7 September 2019.
- ^ USA v James Gordon Meek, Memorandum Brief of Appellant, February 21 2023
- ^ a b "Ex-ABC News journalist charged in child sexual exploitation case". The Washington Times.
- ^ "Journalist James Gordon Meek missing since FBI 'seized classified docs' in home raid: Report". October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Journalist James Gordon Meek missing since FBI 'seized classified docs' in home raid: Report". October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Glenn: 'DISAPPEARED' reporter is the year's BIGGEST STORY". YouTube.
- ^ "Missing ABC producer spotted for first time in months after FBI raid".
- ^ a b "Glenn: 'DISAPPEARED' reporter is the year's BIGGEST STORY - Glenn Beck".
- ^ https://www.foxnews.com/media/abc-news-reporter-james-gordon-meek-resigned-very-abruptly-following-alleged-fbi-raid-of-home
- ^ "Man Arrested for Transporting Images of Child Sexual Abuse". February 2023.
- ^ https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca4.170375/gov.uscourts.ca4.170375.5.1.pdf