DOJ Preps Charges Against Former ABC News Producer



DOJ Preps Charges Against Former ABC News Producer

Nearly 8 months aft the FBI raided James Gordon Meek’s home, sources accidental the authorities is getting acceptable an indictment, unrelated to his paintings arsenic a journalist, for a expansive jury’s attention 

By Tatiana Siegel

More than seven months aft ABC shaper James Gordon Meek turned into the taxable of a melodramatic Federal Bureau of Investigation raid, an indictment is being organized by the Department of Justice to contiguous to a expansive jury, according to sources acquainted with the matter. The FBI person been tracking Meek for suspected transgression involvement unrelated to his enactment arsenic a writer lengthy earlier than the April 27 raid, successful keeping with the ones sources successful summation to others. Additionally, caller info person emerged surrounding the matter. Rolling Stone has learned that the FBI seized astir a twelve physics gadgets belonging to the Emmy-triumphing investigative writer successful the people of the predawn raid of his Arlington, Virginia, domestic, aft which Meek resed from ABC thru e-mail.

The FBI has formerly confirmed that the institution person been “conducting courtroom-legal law-enforcement activity” connected the greeting of April 27 astatine Meek’s header with. Meek’s ineligible nonrecreational Eugene Gorokhov says, “I tin not remark connected immoderate pending investigations, but immoderate selections that request to beryllium made close present are perfectly wrong the government’s discretion.” 

The Department of Justice is said to beryllium taking other precautions fixed Meek’s popularity arsenic a journalist. The investigation, details of which are not publically to beryllium had, is moving astatine a planned tempo this is mean for a excessive-profile situation, resources say. Complicating matters, the FBI allegedly determined categorised accusation connected Meek’s machine pursuing the seizure, much than 1 sources say. The alleged ownership of categorized cloth would enactment a abstracted matter, 2 of these assets add, and could apt not bring astir transgression charges.  

The state wide-protection investigative shaper regularly labored connected testimonies that disquieted touchy substances and sourcing. He changed into first-class regarded for heavy dives that protected a bid of quality connected a 2017 ISIS ambush successful Niger that near 4 American Green Berets lifeless. His reporting, which poked holes successful the Pentagon’s legit communicative of what surely occurred successful the people of the botched project, was tailored into the 2021 function-duration documentary 3212 Un-Redacted for ABC’s sister enactment Hulu.

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On Oct. 18, Rolling Stone first pronounced connected the raid of Meek’s location – a pinnacle-floor flat wrong the upscale Siena Park analyzable successful suburban Washington, D.C. Meek tendered his resation to a manager done e-mail, bringing up non-public reasons, sooner oregon aboriginal aft the raid, which helium by nary means disclosed to ABC. Sources accidental ABC turned into orant of the raid until months aft it befell. Meek’s ineligible nonrecreational declined remark connected that factor. In a s that the raid changed into unrelated to his enactment arsenic a journalist, the assemblage go ne'er asked with the assistance of Meek to connection ineligible help, according to an ABC proviso adjacent the situation. (A accusation outlet would mostly returned a writer dealing with authorities scrutiny successful their newsgathering sports, which see allegations of ownership of classified substances, fixed the archetypal modification implications of specified matters.) But the origins of the Meek probe had not thing to bash with categorised substances, resources say. The April 28 resation became the eventual clip the web heard from its erstwhile personage manufacturer,the ABC proviso says. (Meek, present 53, moved retired of his Siena Park condominium rapidly aft the raid and is residing with his parent successful suburban D.C.)

How Meek regarded astatine the FBI’s radar wrong the archetypal spot stays murky. Theresa Carroll Buchanan, a national Justice of the Peace justice successful the Virginia Eastern District Court, sed disconnected astatine the question warrant the time earlier the raid. Rolling Stone spoke with witnesses to the raid, which featured an notable quantity of firepower which includes an armored tactical conveyance referred to arsenic a Lenco BearCat G2 arsenic good arsenic an predicted 10 intimately equipped sellers. But the feds person extremity up much and much cautious whilst serving warrants. In 2021, 2 of the bureau’s agents person been killed and 3 were wounded whilst targeting the location of a Florida guy, marking the deadliest time for the FBI considering the information that 1994.

For immoderate 3 a agelong time, Meek broke superior testimonies consisting of the Army’s coverup of the fratricidal demise of Pfc. Dave Sharrett II successful Iraq astatine specified outlets arsenic APBNews.Com and the New York Daily News earlier than landing astatine ABC, successful which helium changed into a fixture successful the near-knit planetary of countrywide information bushed journalists. But his pals and those who worked intimately with him implicit the years picture Meek arsenic immoderate happening of a closed book. Krystin Poitra, who lived successful an condo adjacent to Meek’s for greater than a decennary and parked her automobile adjacent to his SUV, says careless of mundane exchanges with her neighbour she had nary thought what helium did for a living. Many erstwhile colleagues cited him arsenic a “military fanboy” for the crushed that helium touted his connections wrong the apical ranks of the militia. And helium near the assemblage of journalism for 2 years to enroll successful the unit of the House Committee connected Homeland Security for then-chairman Peter King of New York.

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But idiosyncratic details astir the divorced begetter of 2 ladies enactment elusive, with immoderate exceptions, similar Meek telling colleagues that helium became stimulated to cowl coercion instances aft his relative perished wrong the Oklahoma City bombing successful 1995. Reporter Janon Fisher, who labored with Meek astatine each APB and the Daily News, tells Rolling Stone that his erstwhile workfellow became an utmost feline who appeared to beryllium a portion of the so-known arsenic directly-aspect mode of beingness whose adherents eschew intoxicant and capsules and go partial to the D.C. Band Fugazi.

“He go an astonishing workfellow nevertheless a spot standoffish astatine times,” Fisher adds. “He by nary means spoke loosely astir his backstage life. I successful nary mode got immoderate from him. You commonly get a fewer facts from immoderate idiosyncratic astatine immoderate constituent of verbal exchange. There’s an alternate backward and forward. And it conscionable seemed similar helium wasn’t helium wasn’t giving an atrocious batch back. He changed into simply precise guarded that way.” 

Meanwhile, Meek’s trajectory from investigative prima newsman to a headline-grabbing enigma has travel to beryllium a blistery taxable successful Hollywood. In the months starring up to the raid, Meek was carrying retired paintings connected a e-book for Simon & Schuster titled Operation Pineapple Express: The Incredible Story of a Group of Americans Who Undertook One Last Mission and Honored a Promise successful Afghanistan, which helium co-authored with Lt. Col. Scott Mann, a retired Green Beret. Several top-tier accumulation organizations, including Brad Pitt’s Plan B (Moonlight) and manufacturers similar Dana Brunetti (Captain Phillips), person been vying for the rights to Operation Pineapple Express, which was softly received by Basil Iwanyk (Sicario). Sources accidental Meek person been jogging origin connected negotiations nevertheless past unexpectedly chopped disconnected communications. “He became texting and doing Zoom calls each day, aft which helium conscionable stopped,” says 1 antheral oregon pistillate acrophobic with movie rights negotiations.Sometime wrong the spring, Simon & Schuster mysteriously scrubbed Meek’s sanction from each property substances for the e publication arsenic good arsenic successful maximum times successful the e-book itself, successful which helium played a captious relation successful the communicative arsenic a writer who helped American-trained commandos interruption retired Afghanistan amid the U.S. Navy’s chaotic withdrawal successful 2021. (Meek is covered successful the antheral oregon pistillate database wrong the e book.) A Simon & Schuster typical declined remark. 

“He contacted maine wrong the spring, and go genuinely distraught, and advised maine that helium had immoderate terrible non-public problems taking spot and that helium had to retreat from the challenge,” Mann told Rolling Stone. “As a antheral who’s a combat seasoned who has disposable that signifier of unit — I don’t cognize what it was — I commemorated it. And helium went connected his way, and I persisted astatine the assment.”