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{{Short description|American journalist}}
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{{about other people|the American journalist|James Meek}}
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'''James Gordon Meek''' (born 1968) is an American former [[ABC News]] senior producer and senior counter-terrorism advisor to the U.S. [[House Committee on Homeland Security]]<ref name=ABC>{{cite news |first1=David |last1=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 }}</ref><ref name=SS /> During his time as a journalist, Meek held prominent positions covering the justice system, military, and foreign intelligence desks.<ref name="fox3">https://www.foxnews.com/media/feds-recommend-15-year-prison-sentence-ex-abc-news-reporter-guilty-sadistic-child-porn</ref><ref>News Media Yellow Book.&nbsp;(2008).&nbsp;United States:&nbsp;Monitor Leadership Directories, Incorporated.</ref>
'''James Gordon Meek''' (born 1968) is an American former [[ABC News]] senior producer and senior counter-terrorism advisor to the U.S. [[House Committee on Homeland Security]]<ref name=ABC>{{cite news |first1=David |last1=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 }}</ref><ref name=SS /> In 2022, the FBI raided his [[Virginia]] home and seized hundreds of [[child sexual abuse material|sexual abuse material]]s showing children "from infancy", following Meek's boast of having raped a toddler girl and repeatedly sharing an explicit video of the same.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/01/james-gordon-meek-journalist-child-pornopgraphy/ |title=Former ABC News journalist charged in child porn case |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2023-02-01 |accessdate=2023-05-30}}</ref><ref name="DOJ_2/1/2023">{{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 name="Johnson_2/1/2023">{{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}}</ref> The DOJ focused on those images where it was known Meek was the "original abuser" who had created them; it was determined Meek had been "grooming minors for sexual favors" noting that he was quite detailed in repeatedly expressing his desire to sexually molest young children, and in July 2023 he pleaded guilty, and received a 6-year sentence.<ref name="a22">[[The Nation (Sri Lanka)|The Nation]], [https://www.nation.lk/online/ex-abc-news-star-charged-in-child-porn-case-eyes-plea-deal-215796.html ABC News Star Charged in Child Porn Case Eyes Plea Deal], nation.lk. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-k6dyDPzno&ab_channel=NewYorkPost</ref><ref name="auto">Palmer, Emily. July 19, 2023 - Ex-ABC Investigative Journalist Expected to Plead Guilty in Child Pornography Case After Dropbox Tip https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/07/18/james-meek-abc-news-child-porn-plea-deal/</ref><ref name="lat">{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-07-21/former-abc-news-producer-pleads-guilty-in-child-pornography-case|title=Former ABC News producer pleads guilty in child pornography case|date=July 21, 2023|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="ppl">{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/ex-abc-news-producer-to-plead-guilty-child-pornography-case-7563066|title=Ex-ABC Investigative Journalist Expected to Plead Guilty in Child Pornography Case After Dropbox Tip|website=Peoplemag}}</ref><ref>https://themessenger.com/news/feds-seek-15-years-for-abc-news-producer-james-gordon-meek-for-sadistic-and-masochistic-child-porn</ref><ref name="fox3">https://www.foxnews.com/media/feds-recommend-15-year-prison-sentence-ex-abc-news-reporter-guilty-sadistic-child-porn</ref><ref name="sent">https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-journalist-sentenced-possessing-child-sexual-abuse-material</ref><ref name="arl29" />


In 2023, Meek pleaded guilty to criminal charges of transportation and possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to six years in prison.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Rizzo |first=Salvador |date=2023-09-29 |title=Former ABC News journalist gets 6-year sentence in child pornography case |language=en-US |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09/29/child-porn-meek-journalist-sentenced/ |access-date=2023-10-01 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-09-29 |title=An ex-investigative journalist is sentenced to 6 years in a child sexual abuse materials case |url=https://apnews.com/article/abc-journalist-child-pornography-meek-sentence-2c6d2b23b6f0d66644d8c26fe75f0f85 |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>
During his time as a journalist, Meek held prominent positions covering the justice system, military, and foreign intelligence desks.<ref name="fox3" /><ref>News Media Yellow Book.&nbsp;(2008).&nbsp;United States:&nbsp;Monitor Leadership Directories, Incorporated.</ref> His engagement with child sex abuse material, and subsequently its creation, dated back to at least 2014.<ref>https://canoe.com/news/world/ex-investigative-journalist-sentenced-to-6-years-in-child-sexual-abuse-materials-case/wcm/47587b1b-1d79-4f3f-aa07-4f83c3836e1e</ref><ref name=":22" />


==Career==
==Career==
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Meek was the last person to interview [[William Colby]], for a story on the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]], as the former [[CIA]] director was found dead days later.<ref>[https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,984655,00.html Colby's Video Goodbye], TIME.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref> The former [[CIA]] station chief [[E. Howard Hunt]], implicated in conspiracy theories about the assassination of Kennedy, later thanked Meek at the end of his 1999 book ''Bishop'', for use of his private [[shooting range]].<ref>Hunt, Howard. "Bishop", 1999. pg. 388</ref> Meek went through [[art school]], rather than any training in intelligence or journalism, but had little experience beyond his father commissioning him to create a [[scratchboard]] art piece for HMI.<ref>{{cite book|author=Unnamed |date=May 13, 1997 |title=Illustrators |url=https://archive.org/details/illustrations38s0000unse |publisher=RotoVision |isbn=9782880463076 |oclc=68518293 |ol=12643231M}}</ref><ref name="spy" />
Meek was the last person to interview [[William Colby]], for a story on the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]], as the former [[CIA]] director was found dead days later.<ref>[https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,984655,00.html Colby's Video Goodbye], TIME.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref> The former [[CIA]] station chief [[E. Howard Hunt]], implicated in conspiracy theories about the assassination of Kennedy, later thanked Meek at the end of his 1999 book ''Bishop'', for use of his private [[shooting range]].<ref>Hunt, Howard. "Bishop", 1999. pg. 388</ref> Meek went through [[art school]], rather than any training in intelligence or journalism, but had little experience beyond his father commissioning him to create a [[scratchboard]] art piece for HMI.<ref>{{cite book|author=Unnamed |date=May 13, 1997 |title=Illustrators |url=https://archive.org/details/illustrations38s0000unse |publisher=RotoVision |isbn=9782880463076 |oclc=68518293 |ol=12643231M}}</ref><ref name="spy" />


Meek and Rosenberg then founded "Digital Culture Interactive News", which wrote stories about their ''Gridlock'' webzine, and sent submissions to ''[[Reader's Digest]]''.<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><ref>Rogers, Jim. "Facing Terror: The Government's Response to Contemporary Extremists in America", pg. 104</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=1193 | title=American Journalism Review - Archives }}</ref> Meek wrote an article for the ''[[Ladies Home Journal]]'' entitled "...And Throw Away the Key", about how NCMEC and the FBI used digital and forensic technology to protect children from predators.<ref>''Ladies Home Journal'', January 2003. "Throw Away the Key", by James Gordon Meek</ref> Meek started an unsuccessful "Spookhouse Media Services", and worked as a video producer for his father's public relations firm creating a series of video interviews with mountain climbers including [[Allen Steck]].<ref name="aa">[[WorldCat]], [https://www.worldcat.org/title/4779628631 Marquis: Who's Who?: James Gordon Meek (4779628631)]</ref><ref>https://www.worldcat.org/title/70278401</ref><ref>https://www.worldcat.org/title/50558929</ref><ref>[[American Alpine Club]], [https://archive.org/details/NancyFeagin Nancy Feagin Interview by JM Meek], produced by James Gordon Meek, 1995 [https://www.worldcat.org/title/50551249]</ref> Meek was thanked in the [[EPA]] director's 2000 book on the subject of [[Public Relations]] .<ref>{{cite book|author=Rene A. Henry |date=2000 |title=You'd better have a hose if you want to put out the fire |url=https://archive.org/details/youdbetterhaveho0000henr |publication-place=Windsor, CA |publisher=Gollywobbler Productions |isbn=096745350X |lccn=99095476 |ol=61434M}}</ref>
Meek and Rosenberg then founded "Digital Culture Interactive News", which wrote stories about their ''Gridlock'' webzine, and sent submissions to ''[[Reader's Digest]]''.<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><ref>Rogers, Jim. "Facing Terror: The Government's Response to Contemporary Extremists in America", pg. 104</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=1193 | title=American Journalism Review - Archives }}</ref> Meek wrote an article for the ''[[Ladies Home Journal]]'' entitled "...And Throw Away the Key", about how NCMEC and the FBI used digital and forensic technology to protect children from predators.<ref>''Ladies Home Journal'', January 2003. "Throw Away the Key", by James Gordon Meek</ref> Meek started an unsuccessful "Spookhouse Media Services", and worked as a video producer for his father's public relations firm creating a series of video interviews with mountain climbers including [[Allen Steck]].<ref name="aa">[[WorldCat]], [https://www.worldcat.org/title/4779628631 Marquis: Who's Who?: James Gordon Meek (4779628631)]</ref><ref>https://www.worldcat.org/title/70278401</ref><ref>https://www.worldcat.org/title/50558929</ref><ref>[[American Alpine Club]], [[iarchive:NancyFeagin|Nancy Feagin Interview by JM Meek]], produced by James Gordon Meek, 1995 [https://www.worldcat.org/title/50551249]</ref> Meek was thanked in the [[EPA]] director's 2000 book on the subject of [[Public Relations]] .<ref>{{cite book|author=Rene A. Henry |date=2000 |title=You'd better have a hose if you want to put out the fire |url=https://archive.org/details/youdbetterhaveho0000henr |publication-place=Windsor, CA |publisher=Gollywobbler Productions |isbn=096745350X |lccn=99095476 |ol=61434M}}</ref>


When Rosenberg chose to leave [[UPI]], Meek was "told to pack [his] bags as well" and went back to working on ''Gridlock'', which had to relocate its webspace to reside on the servers of the libertarian patriotnews.com.<ref name="web.archive.org">{{cite web |date=2004-08-19 |title=Gridlock & Load {{!}} Launch Pad {{!}} Third Anniversary, Oct. 1999 |url=http://www.gridlockmag.com/launcher/23.html |access-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040819010323/http://www.gridlockmag.com/launcher/23.html |archive-date=August 19, 2004 }}</ref> He also wrote for the defunct APBNews.com.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://irp.fas.org/news/2000/02/hack_probe0210_01.htm |url-access= |title= Hacker Covered Tracks in Web Onslaught FBI Examining Computer Logs, Intelligence in Search for Culprit|author= James Gordon Meek |author-link= |date= February 10, 2000 |quote= "The FBI can be quite clever when they have the data to work with, but I'm not going to assume they have enough information in this case," Pike told Meek at APBnews.com. Whether the logs are complete or not, the process of analyzing such data is typically arduous, time-consuming and resource-intensive, the FBI official said."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://all.net/books/iw/iwarstuff/www.apbnews.com/cjprofessionals/behindthebadge/1999/10/05/dod1005_01.html |url-access= |title= Defense Department Battles Cybercrime High-Tech Lab Aims to Hunt Hackers, Catch Crackers |author= James Gordon Meek |author-link= |date= October 5, 1999 |quote= "Forensic examiner Dave Lang happily demonstrated the technicians' skill at retrieving bits of data off tiny fragments -- a floppy disk, say, that was cut up or badly mangled by a crook trying to conceal illicit material like child pornography. A disk could be melted, Lang said, but if an intact portion of the disk is salvageable, it can be spliced into a clean disk and examined. "If it can be picked up with tweezers, we can read what's on it," he said.."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://irp.fas.org/news/1999/08/cyber0829_01.htm |url-access= |title= Cyberterror: Thing That Goes Bump in the Net? Some Wonder if the Goverment [sic] is Hyping Fear of Attack |author= James Gordon Meek |author-link= |date= August 27, 1999 |quote= ""The FBI is an all-time grand champion of taking advantage of the perceived crisis du jour to enhance its authority and budget."}}</ref>
When Rosenberg chose to leave [[UPI]], Meek was "told to pack [his] bags as well" and went back to working on ''Gridlock'', which had to relocate its webspace to reside on the servers of the libertarian patriotnews.com.<ref name="web.archive.org">{{cite web |date=2004-08-19 |title=Gridlock & Load {{!}} Launch Pad {{!}} Third Anniversary, Oct. 1999 |url=http://www.gridlockmag.com/launcher/23.html |access-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040819010323/http://www.gridlockmag.com/launcher/23.html |archive-date=August 19, 2004 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=October 2023}} He also wrote for the defunct APBNews.com.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://irp.fas.org/news/2000/02/hack_probe0210_01.htm |url-access= |title= Hacker Covered Tracks in Web Onslaught FBI Examining Computer Logs, Intelligence in Search for Culprit|author= James Gordon Meek |author-link= |date= February 10, 2000 |quote= "The FBI can be quite clever when they have the data to work with, but I'm not going to assume they have enough information in this case," Pike told Meek at APBnews.com. Whether the logs are complete or not, the process of analyzing such data is typically arduous, time-consuming and resource-intensive, the FBI official said."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://all.net/books/iw/iwarstuff/www.apbnews.com/cjprofessionals/behindthebadge/1999/10/05/dod1005_01.html |url-access= |title= Defense Department Battles Cybercrime High-Tech Lab Aims to Hunt Hackers, Catch Crackers |author= James Gordon Meek |author-link= |date= October 5, 1999 |quote= "Forensic examiner Dave Lang happily demonstrated the technicians' skill at retrieving bits of data off tiny fragments -- a floppy disk, say, that was cut up or badly mangled by a crook trying to conceal illicit material like child pornography. A disk could be melted, Lang said, but if an intact portion of the disk is salvageable, it can be spliced into a clean disk and examined. "If it can be picked up with tweezers, we can read what's on it," he said.."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://irp.fas.org/news/1999/08/cyber0829_01.htm |url-access= |title= Cyberterror: Thing That Goes Bump in the Net? Some Wonder if the Goverment [sic] is Hyping Fear of Attack |author= James Gordon Meek |author-link= |date= August 27, 1999 |quote= ""The FBI is an all-time grand champion of taking advantage of the perceived crisis du jour to enhance its authority and budget."}}</ref>


In 2002, Meek wrote an article for Leslie Rosenberg's ''Atomic'' magazine, titled "Mad at the FBI", mocking the agency's moral crusade.<ref>[http://www.atomicmag.com/articles/2002/fbi_mad.shtml "Mad at the FBI"], atomicmag.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref> Meek later bemoaned 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 &#124; Crew }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/02/business/media-talk-i-was-a-playboy-reader-for-the-fbi.html | title=MEDIA TALK; I Was a Playboy Reader for the F.B.I. | work=The New York Times | date=October 2, 2000 | last1=Barringer | first1=Felicity }}</ref>
In 2002, Meek wrote an article for Leslie Rosenberg's ''Atomic'' magazine, titled "Mad at the FBI", mocking the agency's moral crusade.<ref>[http://www.atomicmag.com/articles/2002/fbi_mad.shtml "Mad at the FBI"], atomicmag.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref> Meek later bemoaned 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 &#124; Crew }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/02/business/media-talk-i-was-a-playboy-reader-for-the-fbi.html | title=MEDIA TALK; I Was a Playboy Reader for the F.B.I. | work=The New York Times | date=October 2, 2000 | last1=Barringer | first1=Felicity }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=October 2023}}


Meek became a reporter for the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' alongside his father's [[White House]] colleague Ken Bazinet who had also provided material for Meek and Rosenberg's webzine.<ref name="web.archive.org"/><ref>{{cite web |date=2004-08-27 |title=Gridlock & Load {{!}} Washington War Groom {{!}} Like moths to the flame |url=http://gridlockmag.com/911anniversary/pg3.html |access-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040827050459/http://gridlockmag.com/911anniversary/pg3.html |archive-date=August 27, 2004 }}</ref> Meek wrote extensively on the [[death of Dave Sharrett II]], whose father had taught Meek at [[Langley High School (Fairfax County, Virginia)|Langley High School]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert M. Poole |date=2014 |title=Section 60 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |url=https://archive.org/details/section60arlingt0000pool |isbn=9781620402931 |lccn=2014017528 |oclc=860754995 |ol=27168136M}}</ref><ref name="jackson">{{cite news |last1=Jackman |first1=Tom |title=A closer look at those in the Dave Sharrett case |url=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 |access-date=5 March 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 26, 2012}}</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=October 22, 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> Meek wrote of his "deep friendship" with the family of [[Kidnapping of Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman|Caitlan Coleman]], and is a personal friend of constitutional lawyer [[Mark Zaid]].<ref name="obit">{{cite web |title=Jim Coleman, father of ex-Taliban hostage, was a man of honor: Reporter's Notebook |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/jim-coleman-father-taliban-hostage-man-honor-reporters/story?id=78998031 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref name="npr.org">{{cite web |first=David |last=Folkenflik |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/03/21/1164360143/rolling-stone-fbi-raid-journalist-james-gordon-meek |title=The FBI raided a notable journalist's home. Rolling Stone didn't tell readers why |publisher=NPR |date=March 21, 2023}}</ref>
Meek became a reporter for the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' alongside his father's [[White House]] colleague Ken Bazinet who had also provided material for Meek and Rosenberg's webzine.<ref name="web.archive.org"/><ref>{{cite web |date=2004-08-27 |title=Gridlock & Load {{!}} Washington War Groom {{!}} Like moths to the flame |url=http://gridlockmag.com/911anniversary/pg3.html |access-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040827050459/http://gridlockmag.com/911anniversary/pg3.html |archive-date=August 27, 2004 }}</ref> Meek wrote extensively on the [[death of Dave Sharrett II]], whose father had taught Meek at [[Langley High School (Fairfax County, Virginia)|Langley High School]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert M. Poole |date=2014 |title=Section 60 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |url=https://archive.org/details/section60arlingt0000pool |isbn=9781620402931 |lccn=2014017528 |oclc=860754995 |ol=27168136M}}</ref><ref name="jackson">{{cite news |last1=Jackman |first1=Tom |title=A closer look at those in the Dave Sharrett case |url=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 |access-date=5 March 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 26, 2012}}</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=October 22, 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> Meek wrote of his "deep friendship" with the family of [[Kidnapping of Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman|Caitlan Coleman]], and is a personal friend of constitutional lawyer [[Mark Zaid]].<ref name="obit">{{cite web |title=Jim Coleman, father of ex-Taliban hostage, was a man of honor: Reporter's Notebook |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/jim-coleman-father-taliban-hostage-man-honor-reporters/story?id=78998031 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref name="npr.org">{{cite web |first=David |last=Folkenflik |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/03/21/1164360143/rolling-stone-fbi-raid-journalist-james-gordon-meek |title=The FBI raided a notable journalist's home. Rolling Stone didn't tell readers why |publisher=NPR |date=March 21, 2023}}</ref>
[[File:James Gordon Meek homeland security.png|thumb|left|In addition to his duties as a senior advisor, Meek was also the senior investigator for the House Committee on Homeland Security, and in May 2011 was sent to tour the [[ADX Florence]] supermax prison, and "cementing ties with Navy SEAL, Special Operations Command, Pentagon lead on front lines".<ref>https://cha.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/cha.house.gov/files/11_05_homeland_security.pdf</ref>]]
[[File:James Gordon Meek homeland security.png|thumb|left|In addition to his duties as a senior advisor, Meek was also the senior investigator for the House Committee on Homeland Security, and in May 2011 was sent to tour the [[ADX Florence]] supermax prison, and "cementing ties with Navy SEAL, Special Operations Command, Pentagon lead on front lines".<ref>https://cha.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/cha.house.gov/files/11_05_homeland_security.pdf</ref>]]
From 2005-06, Meek helped [[Peter Bergen]] and Bergen's wife, Tresha Mabile, release the best-selling book ''[[The Osama bin Laden I Know]]''.<ref>Peter L. Bergen, The Osama bin Laden I know: an oral history of al-Qaeda's leader (New York, Free Press, 2006), ( {{ISBN|0743278917}}/ {{ISBN|9780743278911}}), pg. xxxiii.</ref> Margaux Ewen, executive director of the [[James Foley (journalist)|Foley Foundation]] where Mabile and Bergen sat on the board due to efforts to help Coleman, announced Meek was the winner of the group's 2022 "World Press Freedom" award.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyovo3dc7W8&ab_channel=JamesW.FoleyLegacyFoundation James Foley Legacy Foundation], youtube.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://jamesfoleyfoundation.org/press-releases-1/treshamabile Press releases], JamesFoleyFoundation.org. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com"/><ref name="Batle">{{cite web |date=2022-04-15 |title=ISIS 'Beatle' accused of murdering Americans found guilty |url=https://abc7ny.com/isis-beatle-accused-of-murdering-americans-found-guilty-/11750698/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC7 New York |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Accused ISIS 'Beatle' on trial for brutal kidnappings, faces mothers of American victims |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/accused-isis-beatle-trial-brutal-kidnappings-faces-mothers/story?id=83893964 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ISIS 'Beatle' accused of murdering Americans found guilty on all charges |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-beatle-accused-murdering-americans-awaits-jury-verdict/story?id=84061290 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> Legal author [[Stuart Taylor Jr.]] accused Meek of "[[classist]]" coverage falsely suggesting guilt of the wrongly-accused defendants in the 2006 [[Duke lacrosse case]].<ref>''Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case'' (2010), United Kingdom: St. Martin's Press.</ref> Meek made international headlines when he announced the discovery of a [[Hudson River bomb plot]], although federal authorities criticised the story which had raised public alarm but was based on "extremely vague" online comments on a website by people with no connection to the United States and no understanding of the river and tunnels and no evidence of any planning or abilities.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120331082727/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/07/AR2006070700361_pf.html "Plot to Attack N.Y. Foiled - Transit Tunnels to N.J. Called Targets"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', July 8, 2006.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc4.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=F5F39ACB-F4AF-456D-AB8E-6021F9955BF5 |title=Feds say 'real deal' plot on NY-NJ tunnel is foiled |publisher=[[Associated Press|AP]] via ABC4.com|date=July 7, 2006
From 2005-06, Meek helped [[Peter Bergen]] and Bergen's wife, Tresha Mabile, release the best-selling book ''[[The Osama bin Laden I Know]]''.<ref>Peter L. Bergen, The Osama bin Laden I know: an oral history of al-Qaeda's leader (New York, Free Press, 2006), ( {{ISBN|0743278917}}/ {{ISBN|9780743278911}}), pg. xxxiii.</ref> Margaux Ewen, executive director of the [[James Foley (journalist)|Foley Foundation]] where Mabile and Bergen sat on the board due to efforts to help Coleman, announced Meek was the winner of the group's 2022 "World Press Freedom" award.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyovo3dc7W8&ab_channel=JamesW.FoleyLegacyFoundation James Foley Legacy Foundation], youtube.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://jamesfoleyfoundation.org/press-releases-1/treshamabile Press releases], JamesFoleyFoundation.org. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news |date=2023-02-01 |title=Former ABC News journalist charged in child porn case |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/01/james-gordon-meek-journalist-child-pornopgraphy/ |accessdate=2023-05-30}}</ref><ref name="Batle">{{cite web |date=2022-04-15 |title=ISIS 'Beatle' accused of murdering Americans found guilty |url=https://abc7ny.com/isis-beatle-accused-of-murdering-americans-found-guilty-/11750698/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC7 New York |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Accused ISIS 'Beatle' on trial for brutal kidnappings, faces mothers of American victims |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/accused-isis-beatle-trial-brutal-kidnappings-faces-mothers/story?id=83893964 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ISIS 'Beatle' accused of murdering Americans found guilty on all charges |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-beatle-accused-murdering-americans-awaits-jury-verdict/story?id=84061290 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> Legal author [[Stuart Taylor Jr.]] accused Meek of "[[classist]]" coverage falsely suggesting guilt of the wrongly-accused defendants in the 2006 [[Duke lacrosse case]].<ref>''Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case'' (2010), United Kingdom: St. Martin's Press.</ref> Meek made international headlines when he announced the discovery of a [[Hudson River bomb plot]], although federal authorities criticised the story which had raised public alarm but was based on "extremely vague" online comments on a website by people with no connection to the United States and no understanding of the river and tunnels and no evidence of any planning or abilities.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120331082727/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/07/AR2006070700361_pf.html "Plot to Attack N.Y. Foiled - Transit Tunnels to N.J. Called Targets"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', July 8, 2006.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc4.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=F5F39ACB-F4AF-456D-AB8E-6021F9955BF5 |title=Feds say 'real deal' plot on NY-NJ tunnel is foiled |publisher=[[Associated Press|AP]] via ABC4.com|date=July 7, 2006
}}</ref> Meek had previously raised alarm announcing in 2004 he had uncovered the smuggling of a [[nuclear bomb]] from Mexico into the United States for use in a terror plot.<ref>Meek JG. [https://www.worldcat.org/title/8356831398 Terrorist plot reported for nuclear bomb smuggled into US via Mexico]. [[Knight Ridder]], ''[[The Tribune (San Luis Obispo)|Tribune Business News]]'', November 15, 2004.</ref> Since at least 2007, Meek's reporting "was generating a buzz of skepticism" accusing him of government propaganda and either being aligned with - or turning a blind eye to - a shadowy world of ill-doings among the "Northern Virginia elite".<ref name="mm" />
}}</ref> Meek had previously raised alarm announcing in 2004 he had uncovered the smuggling of a [[nuclear bomb]] from Mexico into the United States for use in a terror plot.<ref>Meek JG. [https://www.worldcat.org/title/8356831398 Terrorist plot reported for nuclear bomb smuggled into US via Mexico]. [[Knight Ridder]], ''[[The Tribune (San Luis Obispo)|Tribune Business News]]'', November 15, 2004.</ref> Since at least 2007, Meek's reporting "was generating a buzz of skepticism" accusing him of government propaganda and either being aligned with - or turning a blind eye to - a shadowy world of ill-doings among the "Northern Virginia elite".<ref name="mm">The Fence, [https://www.the-fence.com/james-meek-cia/ Fairfax County: James Meek], Aug 1 2023</ref>


In 2011, Meek was hired as a senior counter-terrorism investigator for the [[United States House Committee on Homeland Security|House Committee on Homeland Security]], although he was unsure why Congressman [[Peter King (American politician)|Peter King]] had spontaneously offered him the position as he had not sought any such employment - though Meek noted he'd written widely on terrorism and his third cousin's wife had been killed in the 1995 [[Oklahoma City bombing]].<ref name="spy" /><ref name="observer.com"/><ref>Meek, James Gordon. "What Is War", p.202, https://doi.org/10.1163/9789047425816_016</ref><ref name="jackson" /><ref name="spy" /><ref name="rizzo" /><ref name="observer.com">{{cite web |date=2011-02-17 |title=Daily News' Terror Scribe Joins Peter King's Court; 'It's Kind of Like Working In a Think Tank' |url=https://observer.com/2011/02/idaily-newsi-terror-scribe-joins-peter-kings-court-its-kind-of-like-working-in-a-think-tank/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Observer |language=en-US}}</ref> Meek later expressed frustration that he felt he was dealing with some "clueless", "wing-nut" members of Congress who oversaw National Security.<ref name="spy" />
In 2011, Meek was hired as a senior counter-terrorism investigator for the [[United States House Committee on Homeland Security|House Committee on Homeland Security]], although he was unsure why Congressman [[Peter King (American politician)|Peter King]] had spontaneously offered him the position as he had not sought any such employment - though Meek noted he'd written widely on terrorism and his third cousin's wife had been killed in the 1995 [[Oklahoma City bombing]].<ref name="spy" /><ref name="observer.com"/><ref>Meek, James Gordon. "What Is War", p.202, https://doi.org/10.1163/9789047425816_016</ref><ref name="jackson" /><ref name="spy" /><ref name="rizzo" /><ref name="observer.com">{{cite web |date=2011-02-17 |title=Daily News' Terror Scribe Joins Peter King's Court; 'It's Kind of Like Working In a Think Tank' |url=https://observer.com/2011/02/idaily-newsi-terror-scribe-joins-peter-kings-court-its-kind-of-like-working-in-a-think-tank/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Observer |language=en-US}}</ref> Meek later expressed frustration that he felt he was dealing with some "clueless", "wing-nut" members of Congress who oversaw National Security.<ref name="spy" />
[[File:Meekwire_Keybase_-_James_Gordon_Meek.png|thumb|Meek's public encryption keys at [[Keybase]] for "Bone Machine".]]
[[File:Meekwire_Keybase_-_James_Gordon_Meek.png|thumb|Meek's public encryption keys at [[Keybase]] for "Bone Machine".]]
In 2013, Meek was hired as a senior investigative producer for [[ABC News]]' ''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]'', ''[[Good Morning America]]'', ''[[ABC World News Tonight]]'' and ''[[Nightline]]'' programming from 2013-2022.<ref>{{cite web |last=Shanfeld |first=Ethan |date=2023-02-01 |title=Former ABC News Producer Arrested on Child Pornography Charge |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/former-abc-news-producer-arrested-child-pornography-james-gordon-meek-1235509508/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=James Gordon Meek News Stories and Articles |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Author/James_Gordon_Meek |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref name="rizzo">{{cite news |last1=Rizzo |first1=Salvador |title=Former ABC News journalist charged in child pornography case |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/01/james-gordon-meek-journalist-child-pornopgraphy/ |access-date=5 March 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ABC News Expands its Award-Winning Investigative Unit |url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/04/abc-news-expands-its-award-winning-investigative-unit |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> In 2017 Meek wrote an article about [[Russian disinformation]] wherein he referred to "the debunked [[Pizzagate]] conspiracy theory", which drew viral attention with exaggerated suggestions Meek had said much more, after his guilty plea to judge [[Claude Hilton]].<ref>https://www.arlnow.com/2023/07/21/former-journalist-who-lived-on-columbia-pike-pleads-guilty-to-child-sexual-abuse-material-possession/</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/analysts-identify-syriahoax-russian-fueled-propaganda/story?id=46787674|title='Behind #SyriaHoax and the Russian propaganda onslaught'|first1=Brian|last1=Ross|first2=Megan|last2=Christie|first3=James|last3=Meek|work=ABC News|date=April 13, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-abc-pizzagate/fact-check-fabricated-new-york-post-headline-on-ex-abc-journalist-idUSL1N39W381 | title=Fact Check-Fabricated New York Post headline on ex-ABC journalist | newspaper=Reuters | date=August 15, 2023 }}</ref>
In 2013, Meek was hired as a senior investigative producer for [[ABC News]]' ''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]'', ''[[Good Morning America]]'', ''[[ABC World News Tonight]]'' and ''[[Nightline]]'' programming from 2013-2022.<ref>{{cite web |last=Shanfeld |first=Ethan |date=2023-02-01 |title=Former ABC News Producer Arrested on Child Pornography Charge |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/former-abc-news-producer-arrested-child-pornography-james-gordon-meek-1235509508/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=James Gordon Meek News Stories and Articles |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Author/James_Gordon_Meek |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref name="rizzo">{{cite news |last1=Rizzo |first1=Salvador |title=Former ABC News journalist charged in child pornography case |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/01/james-gordon-meek-journalist-child-pornopgraphy/ |access-date=5 March 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ABC News Expands its Award-Winning Investigative Unit |url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/04/abc-news-expands-its-award-winning-investigative-unit |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> In 2017 Meek wrote an article about Russian disinformation in the Syrian war wherein he referred to "the debunked [[Pizzagate]] conspiracy theory", which drew viral attention with exaggerated suggestions Meek had said much more, after his guilty plea to judge [[Claude Hilton]].<ref>https://www.arlnow.com/2023/07/21/former-journalist-who-lived-on-columbia-pike-pleads-guilty-to-child-sexual-abuse-material-possession/</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/analysts-identify-syriahoax-russian-fueled-propaganda/story?id=46787674|title='Behind #SyriaHoax and the Russian propaganda onslaught'|first1=Brian|last1=Ross|first2=Megan|last2=Christie|first3=James|last3=Meek|work=ABC News|date=April 13, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-abc-pizzagate/fact-check-fabricated-new-york-post-headline-on-ex-abc-journalist-idUSL1N39W381 | title=Fact Check-Fabricated New York Post headline on ex-ABC journalist | newspaper=Reuters | date=August 15, 2023 }}</ref>


Meek appeared as a panelist, together with Ewen and Coleman, at the 2021 Double Exposure Film Festival.<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}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://watch.eventive.org/doubleexposure/play/6148dc227a0abe0077602ddf | title=3212 UN-REDACTED &#124; Double Exposure Film Festival 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Beatrice |last1=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> Although he never served in the military, he chose to dress in "typical military-style getup" and led colleagues to believe he'd served.<ref name="spy" /><ref>Associated Press, [https://www.newshubpro.com/news/former-abc-information-journalist-james-gordon-meek-pleads-responsible-to-possessing-youngster-pornography/ Former ABC Information journalist James Gordon Meek pleads responsible to possessing youngster pornography], July 21, 2023</ref><ref>{{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>
Meek appeared as a panelist, together with Ewen and Coleman, at the 2021 Double Exposure Film Festival.<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}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://watch.eventive.org/doubleexposure/play/6148dc227a0abe0077602ddf | title=3212 UN-REDACTED &#124; Double Exposure Film Festival 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Beatrice |last1=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> Although he never served in the military, he chose to dress in "typical military-style getup" and led colleagues to believe he'd served.<ref name="spy" /><ref>Associated Press, [https://www.newshubpro.com/news/former-abc-information-journalist-james-gordon-meek-pleads-responsible-to-possessing-youngster-pornography/ Former ABC Information journalist James Gordon Meek pleads responsible to possessing youngster pornography], July 21, 2023</ref><ref>{{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>
Line 45: Line 46:
In July 2018, Meek defended himself against claims of biased reporting, arguing objectivity was not part of his job, and the majority of "people working with competing interests to the United States" that he'd met would be classified as "soulless monsters", though concluding that in his own breaking news stories there was "perhaps exculpatory information that makes someone who looks really guilty, not actually be guilty."<ref name="spy" /> He noted that a lot of his recent work was with George Nader, the "foreign policy operative who helps to arrange a lot of meetings between a lot of important people", and quoted an unnamed source as explaining to him "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 name="spy" /><ref>{{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><ref>{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mueller-evidence-raising-questions-prince-testimony-meeting-russian/story?id=54277090 | title=Mueller has evidence that Trump supporter's meeting with Putin ally may not have been a chance encounter: Sources | website=[[ABC News]] }}</ref>
In July 2018, Meek defended himself against claims of biased reporting, arguing objectivity was not part of his job, and the majority of "people working with competing interests to the United States" that he'd met would be classified as "soulless monsters", though concluding that in his own breaking news stories there was "perhaps exculpatory information that makes someone who looks really guilty, not actually be guilty."<ref name="spy" /> He noted that a lot of his recent work was with George Nader, the "foreign policy operative who helps to arrange a lot of meetings between a lot of important people", and quoted an unnamed source as explaining to him "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 name="spy" /><ref>{{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><ref>{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mueller-evidence-raising-questions-prince-testimony-meeting-russian/story?id=54277090 | title=Mueller has evidence that Trump supporter's meeting with Putin ally may not have been a chance encounter: Sources | website=[[ABC News]] }}</ref>


==Child pornography prosecution==
==Investigation, Arrest, Conviction==
In 2021, Meek was investigated by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] for crimes related to child pornography.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-01 |title=Ex-ABC News producer arrested and charged with transporting child abuse materials |url=https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/abc-producer-james-gordon-meek-charged-b2273917.html |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> He was charged with transporting child pornography in February of the following year. In July 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and another of possessing child pornography.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He was sentenced to six years in prison in September.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rizzo |first=Salvador |date=2023-09-29 |title=Former ABC News journalist gets 6-year sentence in child pornography case |language=en-US |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09/29/child-porn-meek-journalist-sentenced/ |access-date=2023-09-30 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
[[File:Columbia pike old and new streetscapes w- metro b (7852063800).jpg|thumb|Meek abandoned his Siena Park apartment in [[Arlington, Virginia|Arlington]] following the raid.<ref name="npr.org"/><ref name="mm" /><ref name="wnyc.org"/><ref name="Flood">{{cite web |last=Flood |first=Brian |date=2022-10-19 |title=ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek 'resigned very abruptly' following alleged FBI raid of home |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/abc-news-reporter-james-gordon-meek-resigned-very-abruptly-following-alleged-fbi-raid-of-home |access-date=2023-04-26 |publisher=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref>]]
On April 27, 2022, Meek's home was raided by heavily-armed [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agents in a [[Lenco BearCat]],<ref name="arl29">https://www.arlnow.com/2023/09/29/fmr-journalist-sentenced-for-child-sexual-abuse-material/</ref><ref name="mm">The Fence, [https://www.the-fence.com/james-meek-cia/ Fairfax County: James Meek], Aug 1 2023</ref> who seized numerous electronics, including an [[iPhone 8]] he named "Bone Machine", containing hundreds of images and videos showing the "sadistic" sexual abuse of prepubescent children.<ref name="foxnews.com">https://www.foxnews.com/media/ex-abc-news-journalist-james-gordon-meek-sentenced-six-years-prison-sadistic-child-porn</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://people.com/ex-abc-news-producer-to-plead-guilty-child-pornography-case-7563066 | title=Ex-ABC Investigative Journalist Expected to Plead Guilty in Child Pornography Case After Dropbox Tip }}</ref> Meek told the officers present that "his life was over".<ref name="rizzo" /> The [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] focused on Meek's boast "Have you ever raped a toddler girl? It’s amazing", and repeatedly sharing a video showing the rape of a toddler girl.<ref name="yahoo" /><ref name="npr.org"/><ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=2023-02-01 |title=Man Arrested for Transporting Images of Child Sexual Abuse |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-arrested-transporting-images-child-sexual-abuse |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=justice.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" />


Following Meek's guilty plea, a headline falsely attributed to the [[New York Post]] began circulating online, asserting that Meek had "debunked" the discredited [[Pizzagate conspiracy theory|Pizzagate]] conspiracy theory. A fact-check article published by [[Reuters]] found that Meek had never published any investigation about or "debunking" Pizzagate while he worked at ABC News. The article also found that, in 2017, Meek co-authored an article about Russian propaganda in the Syrian war that mentioned Pizzagate in passing.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-08-15 |title=Fact Check-Fabricated New York Post headline on ex-ABC journalist |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-abc-pizzagate-idUSL1N39W381 |access-date=2023-09-30}}</ref>
This was more than a year after the [[National Center for Missing and Exploited Children]] received a tip from [[Dropbox]] that Meek's account had uploaded five videos, four showing infants and prepubescent children and one showing an adolescent; several appeared to be original files not previously known to authorities - leading to an investigation alongside [[Project Safe Childhood]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Former ABC News journalist charged in child pornography case |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/01/james-gordon-meek-journalist-child-pornopgraphy/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Flood |first=Brian |date=2023-02-01 |title=Ex-ABC News producer James Gordon Meek arrested for transportation of child pornography |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/ex-abc-news-producer-james-gordon-meek-arrested-transportation-child-pornography |access-date=2023-04-26 |publisher=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="oxygen.com">{{cite web |date=2023-02-02 |title=Former ABC News Investigative Reporter Is Facing Federal Child Pornography Charges |url=https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/reporter-james-gordon-meek-facing-child-porn-charge |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Oxygen Official Site |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/former-abc-news-producer-arrested-child-pornography-james-gordon-meek-1235509508/ | title=Former ABC News Producer Arrested on Child Pornography Charge | date=February 1, 2023|first=Ethan|last=Shanfeld|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref><ref name="ie">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/abc-producer-james-gordon-meek-charged-b2273917.html | title=Ex-ABC News producer arrested and charged with transporting child abuse materials | website=[[The Independent]] | date=February 2023 }}</ref> Both NCMEC and the FBI had been earlier made aware in 2016 that Meek had a "sexual interest in children"<ref name="rizzo" /><ref>https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4232093-former-abc-journalist-sentenced-to-six-years-for-child-sexual-abuse-material/</ref> and was using [[Skype]] to share homemade sexual photos of toddlers including one in a stroller.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} The 2021 Dropbox file was passed from NCMEC to the [[Virginia State Police]] who later delegated it to the [[Alexandria Police Department]] who then passed it to the [[FBI]] in September 2021, who had to declare in their Annual Report that they'd sought a search warrant and grand jury subpoena for an unnamed journalist in relation to child sex offences.<ref>2021 Annual Report: Department of Justice Use of Certain Law Enforcement Tools to Obtain Information from, or Records of, Members of the News Media; and Questioning, Arresting, or Charging Members of the News Media (Year 2021)</ref> During this time, Meek continued to offend - with the government noting "he's the original abuser" of children over "nearly a decade of time [...until] as recently as at least January 2022, just a few months before the search of his residence".
{{Rquote|right|"[Meek] was doing a lot of stuff on the intelligence community and whatnot, and out of nowhere his house is raided by the Feds. He went underground...they found images, videos, communications, it's obviously really dark and disgusting...apparently they found a lot of it."|[[David Martin (journalist)|David Martin]], February 25, 2023<ref>[https://archive.org/details/KFQD_750_AM_103_7_FM_20230205_210000?start=10653&q=%22james+gordon+meek%22&scope=_escalate_ KFQD 750AM transcript]</ref>}}
Following the raid, Meek "resigned very abruptly" from [[ABC News]] and disappeared entirely from 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 | publisher=[[Fox News]] | date=October 19, 2022 }}</ref> As friends and colleagues repeatedly expressed concern Meek had simply "vanished" and "fell off the face of the earth" following the April 2022 raid, and that it was clear nobody was living in his apartment, "dark speculation" emerged that Meek may be dead, held in an off-shore prison or forcibly-disappeared by the government.<ref name="mask" /><ref name="Mike">[[Mike Huckabee]], The Stream, [https://stream.org/journalist-target-of-armed-fbi-raid-has-disappeared/ Journalist, Target of Armed FBI Raid, has Disappeared]</ref><ref name="npr.org"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newser.com/story/331080/ex-abc-producer-arrested-on-child-porn-charge.html | title=ABC Producer Who Abruptly Quit Faces Child Porn Charge | date=February 2, 2023 }}</ref><ref name="mm" /><ref name="wnyc.org"/><ref name="Flood"/> [[Steve Burguiere]] noted, "Nobody knew what happened to him, to the point there were multiple articles written asking "is this guy even alive?".<ref name="stu">[[Steve Burguiere]], [https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84771940 Stu Does America: "Debunking Misconceptions"], Feb 2, 2023</ref>

''Rolling Stone'' editor [[Noah Shachtman]], a colleague of Meek, re-wrote another journalist's story to remove the child sexual abuse and falsely suggest the raid had been related to Meek's work as a journalist while Meek's lawyer pushed a similar narrative about "classified documents", thus leading others to repeat the same theory and the [[Freedom of the Press Foundation]] to erroneously declare the investigation "a gross press freedom violation".<ref name="Mike" /><ref name="rizzo" /><ref name="alexa">[[Alexa Nikolas]], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCe57Y1XDPg&ab_channel=AlexaNikolas James Gordon Meek, Noah Shactman, Bryan Freedman], August 23, 2023</ref><ref name="wnyc.org">{{cite web |title=The FBI raided a notable journalist's home. Rolling Stone didn't tell readers why |url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/the-fbi-raided-a-notable-journalists-home-rolling-stone-didnt-tell-readers-why/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |publisher=WNYC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Marcus |first1=Josh |title=Who is James Gordon Meek, star journalist who's been missing since April FBI raid? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/james-gordon-meek-abc-missing-journalist-b2206860.html |access-date=14 March 2023 |work=The Independent |date= October 20, 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Folkenflick |first=David |date=2023-03-21 |title=The FBI raided a notable journalist's home. Rolling Stone didn't tell readers why |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/03/21/1164360143/rolling-stone-fbi-raid-journalist-james-gordon-meek |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=NPR National Public Radio}}</ref><ref name="npr.org" /> Media pundits including [[Tucker Carlson]] and [[Glenn Beck]] reacted by claiming such a federal raid against a journalist was the biggest story of 2022, leading to further "conspiracy theories" that Meek was innocent, and being pursued by a "lawless, corrupt, out-of-control FBI".<ref>[https://ca.style.yahoo.com/former-abc-reporter-subject-wing-205737914.html "Former ABC reporter and subject of right-wing conspiracy theories pleads guilty to transporting child sex abuse material"], yahoo.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref><ref>[[Pamela Geller]], [https://gellerreport.com/2022/10/abc-journalist-disappears-after-fbi-raided-his-home-and-allegedly-seized-classified-info.html/ ABC Journalist DISAPPEARS After FBI Raided His Home And Allegedly Seized Classified Info], Oct 22 2022</ref><ref name="Mike" /><ref name="abb">Abbot, Joel, [https://notthebee.com/article/heres-what-i-got-wrong-about-james-meek-the-award-winning-journalist-arrested-by-the-fbi-last-october What I Got Wrong About James Meek], July 2023</ref><ref name="yahoo.com">{{cite web |title=When a journalist's home was raided by the FBI, Glenn Beck and Tucker Carlson erroneously speculated about the government's motive. The journalist has now been charged with transporting child porn. |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/journalists-home-raided-fbi-glenn-235625247.html |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Yahoo Life |date=February 2, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> Media began to compare the raid and disappearance to [[Brian Epstein (journalist)|Brian Epstein]], Meek's senior cameraman, who had "abruptly and inexplicably" resigned a month earlier and refused to comment on the raid.<ref name="Mike" /><ref name="mask">{{cite web | url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fbi-raids-star-abc-news-001130784.html | title=FBI Raids Star ABC News Producer's Home | date=October 24, 2022 }}</ref><ref name="a262">{{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><ref name="a26">[[Marcy Wheeler|Wheeler, Marcy]], [https://www.emptywheel.net/2022/10/20/sometimes-we-fall-in-love-with-our-sources/ Sometimes We Fall in Love with Our Sources], emptywheel.net. October 20, 2022.</ref><ref>[[James Renner]], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxWkO8tD0Jg&ab_channel=TrueCrimeThisWeek True Crime: James Gordon Meek], October 21, 2022.</ref> Others, including congresswoman [[Marjorie Taylor Greene]] referenced that the media was misleading the public, as the raid had actually been to seize evidence of child sexual abuse, and Meek's colleagues made it clear everyone around him knew the arrest was clearly not related to his journalism.<ref>https://www.arlnow.com/2022/10/26/morning-notes-3014/</ref><ref name="adam">[[Adam Curry]], "Canuck Chuck", Jan 31 2023 Podcast (1:21:00)</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1582845216419352576 Rep MTG Twitter comments]. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref> [[Mark E. Mitchell]], the Assistant Director for Special Operations who knew Meek and appeared as a source in his ''3212'' documentary, suggested Meek's child sex offences were indicative of a shadowy [[Deep State]].<ref name="mm" /> [[Adam Curry]] suggested the child sexual abuse allegations were fictitious and intended to hide Meek's recent stories about Afghanistan.<ref name="adam" />[[KARN-FM]] offered their conclusion that ''"Maybe [Meek]'s in a gulag, maybe they killed him and they threw his body into a woodchipper and he's mulch."''<ref>{{Citation |title=KARN 102.9 FM [Newsradio 102.9 KARN]: October 19, 2022 09:00AM-12:00PM CDT |date=2022-10-19 |url=http://archive.org/details/KARN_102_9_FM_20221019_140000 |access-date=2023-04-26 |others=KARN 102.9 FM [Newsradio 102.9 KARN]}}</ref>

Meek was arrested ten months later on January 31, 2023. After initially pleading Not Guilty, as part of his eventual guilty plea Meek acknowledged sending the video and the comments about raping the female toddler - but remained silent on whether the "erect adult penis" in the faceless video was his own.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web|url=https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/crime-courts/ex-abc-news-reporter-pleads-guilty-in-virginia-court-to-child-porn-charges/article_c1bf7d60-27ed-11ee-8ca5-f7744a166409.html|title=Ex-ABC News reporter pleads guilty in Virginia court to child porn charges|date=July 22, 2023|website=Richmond Times-Dispatch}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/former-abc-news-producer-pleads-guilty-transportation-possession/story?id=101557370|title=Former ABC News producer pleads guilty to transportation and possession of child pornography|website=ABCNews.go.com|accessdate=July 30, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-journalist-pleads-guilty-transportation-and-possession-child-sexual-abuse-material | title=Office of Public Affairs &#124; Former Journalist Pleads Guilty to Transportation and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material &#124; United States Department of Justice | date=July 21, 2023 }}</ref> The FBI materials drew attention to a [[BDSM]] photograph of a prepubescent boy,<ref name="ppl" /><ref name="plu" /> and Meek's fixation on pregnant and breastfeeding women, his alleged agreement with a younger woman to become pregnant by him to allow to both molest their shared infant, Meek's images of a mother performing oral sex on her female toddler, and similar material leading to media branding him a "child predator".<ref>[[Dana Loesch]], [https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/86379645 The Dana Show: 5/26/2023]</ref><ref name="pro">[https://www.thepublica.com/emmy-award-winning-journalist-pleads-guilty-to-transportation-and-possession-of-child-sexual-abuse-material/ Award winning journalist pleads guilty to transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material], thepublica.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.</ref><ref name="oxygen.com"/>

The FBI noted other "extremely disturbing details" about the actions of Meek, which included engaging "in sexually explicit conversations where the participants expressed enthusiasm for the sexual abuse of children" and traded their child abuse materials, even lamenting that he was "not as prolific" in producing new material as some others in his [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]] groups with names such as "Cocks, Cunts, and Kids".<ref name="plu">https://noticias.plu7.com/495214/internacional/o-ex-reporter-da-abc-news-james-gordon-meek-deve-pegar-ate-15-anos-por-caso-de-pornografia-infantil-sadica-federais/</ref> Meek would also directly engage children online, using social media such as [[Snapchat]]. He promised one adolescent to help her meet her hero in exchange for nude photos, [[sextortion|sextorted]] nude photos of other children, and was alleged to impersonate a female child himself online to win their trust.<ref name="ie" /><ref name="plu" /><ref name="browne" /><ref name=":22"/><ref name="auto1"/><ref name="oxygen.com"/><ref name="ppl" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-ABC News journalist charged in child sexual exploitation case |url=https://torontosun.com/news/world/ex-abc-news-journalist-charged-in-child-sexual-exploitation-case |access-date=2023-04-26 |newspaper=Toronto Sun |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref name="yahoo">{{cite news |last1=Richer |first1=Alanna Durkin |title=Ex-ABC journalist charged in child sexual exploitation case |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/ex-abc-journalist-charged-child-202320842.html |publisher=[[Yahoo! News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=February 1, 2023}}</ref><ref name="FBI" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Flood |first=Brian |date=2023-03-21 |title=Rolling Stone accused of whitewashing child sex crime angle of ex-ABC News producer's home raid |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/rolling-stone-accused-whitewashing-child-sex-crime-angle-abc-news-producers-home-raid |access-date=2023-04-26 |publisher=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref>

Meek unsuccessfully argued [[reporter's privilege]] disallowed close examination of his devices.<ref name="a23c" /> Meek was considered the first example of the new 2022 "(d)(1)(i)" exception" allowing the DOJ to investigate actual crimes that may be committed by a journalist otherwise hiding behind enhanced protections.<ref name="a23c" /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lawfareblog.com/nuts-and-bolts-revised-justice-dept-news-media-guidelines | title=The Nuts and Bolts of the Revised Justice Dept. News Media Guidelines | date=May 23, 2023 }}</ref>

Meek remained in prison despite glowing recommendations from a number of professionals, including law enforcement, who swore to his upstanding character, skill and integrity which had initially led to a bail recommendation which was overturned based on concerns Meek would return to the "grooming process", in light of the government's position that "the weight of the evidence is overwhelming" and Meek "poses a significant danger to the community" based on his "violent sexual fantasies about child abuse" that include "everything from the rape of infants to the Bondage and S&M treatment of prepubescent boys".<ref name="wapo">{{cite news |last1=Rizzo |first1=Salvador |title=Former ABC News producer detained until trial on child pornography charges |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/06/james-meek-abc-news-detained-pending-trial/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 6, 2023}}</ref> The judge noted Meek followed the pattern wherein things ''"start out with a little something [and] evolve into something else, and there's a grooming, then you get the meeting, then you get the act of [child sexual abuse]."''<ref name="pro" /> The [[Walsh County Record]] wrote that Meek was unlike most offenders as his motivation appeared to be "evil for its own sake".<ref name="browne" /> Two further charges were brought in March 2023.

On July 17, [[Herndon, Virginia]] cyber-consultant Vincent Sarikey, with whom Meek had traded CSAM, was sentenced to 25 years and Meek had his lawyer file a request that day requesting the opportunity to change his Not Guilty plea to the two lesser charges.<ref name="ppl"/><ref name="a22" /><ref name="lat" /><ref name="auto1"/><ref>Cyber Case Files Podcast, [https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-cyber-case-files-podcast-bidemi-bid-gcWjBZ-nxi1/ July 2023 Case Files]</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/herndon-man-charged-production-child-pornography | title=Eastern District of Virginia &#124; Herndon Man Charged with Production of Child Pornography &#124; United States Department of Justice | date=January 9, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/virginia-man-sentenced-for-multiple-instances-of-producing-child-pornography/ar-AA1e5mLH | title=MSN | website=[[MSN]] }}</ref><ref>https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/07/19/virginia-man-sentenced-producing-distributing-child-pornography/4121689824253/</ref> In September 2023, Meek was sentenced to 6 years.<ref name="a22" /> While electronic devices including four laptops were seized in the FBI raid, the government only managed to decrypt the contents of a single laptop, noting it limited the reach of "this case" but noting the possibility of further charges as other devices may be processed, noting that no conclusions should be drawn from their decision to not present evidence of other crimes at this time.<ref name="a23c">[[Marcy Wheeler|Wheeler, Marcy]], [https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/04/25/james-gordon-meek-and-merrick-garlands-suspect-exception/ "James Gordon Meek and Merrick Garland's 'Suspect Exception'"], emptywheel.net. April 25, 2023.</ref>

Prosecutors noted that Meek had tried, at one point, to blame his child victims.<ref name="washburn">Rizzo, Salvador. [[Washington Post]], [https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09/29/child-porn-meek-journalist-sentenced/ Former ABC News journalist gets 6-year sentence in child pornography case]</ref> While media outlets noted there were other crimes not mentioned in the charges he faced, and speculated whether Meek's plea deal suggested he'd [[Turn state's evidence|turned state's evidence]] implicating other targets of investigation,<ref name="abb" /><ref name="browne">Browne, Steve, Walsh County Record, "The Monsters Among Us", August 3, 2023</ref> State Attorney [[Jessica D. Aber]] noted following Meek's guilty plea that the Department of Justice could not comment on ongoing investigations but it was important to understand "this investigation was always about protecting children from sexual abuse", having earlier referenced "we have a situation here where we have an original abuser. He is engaged in that original harm.".<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/07/21/james-meek-abc-news-guilty-plea/</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 01:32, 2 October 2023

This article is about the American journalist. For other people named James Meek, see James Meek (disambiguation).

James Gordon Meek
File:James Gordon Meek Alexandria (Va.) Sheriff's Department.jpg
Born1969 (age 54–55)
OccupationJournalist
CitizenshipAmerican
Notable awards2022 Foley Foundation World Press Freedom Award
2017 Emmy[1][2]
2015 Emmy[1]
SpouseDivorced, two daughters[3][4][5][6]

James Gordon Meek (born 1968) is an American former ABC News senior producer and senior counter-terrorism advisor to the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security[7][8] During his time as a journalist, Meek held prominent positions covering the justice system, military, and foreign intelligence desks.[9][10]

In 2023, Meek pleaded guilty to criminal charges of transportation and possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to six years in prison.[11][12]

Career

Discussing his motivations, Meek noted "I grew up next to the CIA basically" noting he went to school with the daughter of CIA agent Rufus Phillips who would later publish Meek's first work, and neighbored CIA operative Lucien Conein, leading him to a desire to work in the intelligence underworld.[5] His father, John Martin Meek, had been a lobbyist and speechwriter for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Bobby Kennedy.[13][5] His mother worked "in politics" and narrowly escaped Mir Aimal Kansi's shooting of five CIA agents in 1993.[5]

Meek wrote about crossing the Darien Gap from Panama into Colombia and meeting a group of missionaries who were later executed by FARC.[5][14] Meek served as the drummer in the Virginia Teenbeat rock band Scaley Andrew and the Lizards from Hell, fronted by Andrew Beaujon of the Eggs who later served as senior editor of the Washingtonian magazine.[15][16][17] Meek and Beaujon appeared in the Butch Willis biopic documentary Amateur on Plastic.[18]

Meek initially wrote political articles for the CD-ROM magazine Blender, leading to 1995 accreditation with the Periodical Press Galleries.[19][20][21] Meek and his partner Mike Rosenberg formed the "irreverent" Gridlock webzine to apply for accreditation to the Senate Periodical Press Gallery but were denied as the webzine could not be the pair's primary source of income.[20][22] In August 1996, both men were "shown the door" from Blender for a "poor attitude".[23]

Meek was the last person to interview William Colby, for a story on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, as the former CIA director was found dead days later.[24] The former CIA station chief E. Howard Hunt, implicated in conspiracy theories about the assassination of Kennedy, later thanked Meek at the end of his 1999 book Bishop, for use of his private shooting range.[25] Meek went through art school, rather than any training in intelligence or journalism, but had little experience beyond his father commissioning him to create a scratchboard art piece for HMI.[26][5]

Meek and Rosenberg then founded "Digital Culture Interactive News", which wrote stories about their Gridlock webzine, and sent submissions to Reader's Digest.[27][28][29] Meek wrote an article for the Ladies Home Journal entitled "...And Throw Away the Key", about how NCMEC and the FBI used digital and forensic technology to protect children from predators.[30] Meek started an unsuccessful "Spookhouse Media Services", and worked as a video producer for his father's public relations firm creating a series of video interviews with mountain climbers including Allen Steck.[31][32][33][34] Meek was thanked in the EPA director's 2000 book on the subject of Public Relations .[35]

When Rosenberg chose to leave UPI, Meek was "told to pack [his] bags as well" and went back to working on Gridlock, which had to relocate its webspace to reside on the servers of the libertarian patriotnews.com.[36][better source needed] He also wrote for the defunct APBNews.com.[37][38][39]

In 2002, Meek wrote an article for Leslie Rosenberg's Atomic magazine, titled "Mad at the FBI", mocking the agency's moral crusade.[40] Meek later bemoaned he "has always been skilled at attracting unwarranted attention to himself".[41][42][better source needed]

Meek became a reporter for the New York Daily News alongside his father's White House colleague Ken Bazinet who had also provided material for Meek and Rosenberg's webzine.[36][43] Meek wrote extensively on the death of Dave Sharrett II, whose father had taught Meek at Langley High School.[44][45][8] Meek wrote of his "deep friendship" with the family of Caitlan Coleman, and is a personal friend of constitutional lawyer Mark Zaid.[46][47]

In addition to his duties as a senior advisor, Meek was also the senior investigator for the House Committee on Homeland Security, and in May 2011 was sent to tour the ADX Florence supermax prison, and "cementing ties with Navy SEAL, Special Operations Command, Pentagon lead on front lines".[48]

From 2005-06, Meek helped Peter Bergen and Bergen's wife, Tresha Mabile, release the best-selling book The Osama bin Laden I Know.[49] Margaux Ewen, executive director of the Foley Foundation where Mabile and Bergen sat on the board due to efforts to help Coleman, announced Meek was the winner of the group's 2022 "World Press Freedom" award.[50][51][52][53][54][55] Legal author Stuart Taylor Jr. accused Meek of "classist" coverage falsely suggesting guilt of the wrongly-accused defendants in the 2006 Duke lacrosse case.[56] Meek made international headlines when he announced the discovery of a Hudson River bomb plot, although federal authorities criticised the story which had raised public alarm but was based on "extremely vague" online comments on a website by people with no connection to the United States and no understanding of the river and tunnels and no evidence of any planning or abilities.[57][58] Meek had previously raised alarm announcing in 2004 he had uncovered the smuggling of a nuclear bomb from Mexico into the United States for use in a terror plot.[59] Since at least 2007, Meek's reporting "was generating a buzz of skepticism" accusing him of government propaganda and either being aligned with - or turning a blind eye to - a shadowy world of ill-doings among the "Northern Virginia elite".[60]

In 2011, Meek was hired as a senior counter-terrorism investigator for the House Committee on Homeland Security, although he was unsure why Congressman Peter King had spontaneously offered him the position as he had not sought any such employment - though Meek noted he'd written widely on terrorism and his third cousin's wife had been killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.[5][61][62][45][5][63][61] Meek later expressed frustration that he felt he was dealing with some "clueless", "wing-nut" members of Congress who oversaw National Security.[5]

Meek's public encryption keys at Keybase for "Bone Machine".

In 2013, Meek was hired as a senior investigative producer for ABC News' 20/20, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight and Nightline programming from 2013-2022.[64][65][63][66] In 2017 Meek wrote an article about Russian disinformation in the Syrian war wherein he referred to "the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory", which drew viral attention with exaggerated suggestions Meek had said much more, after his guilty plea to judge Claude Hilton.[67][68][69]

Meek appeared as a panelist, together with Ewen and Coleman, at the 2021 Double Exposure Film Festival.[70][71][72] Although he never served in the military, he chose to dress in "typical military-style getup" and led colleagues to believe he'd served.[5][73][74]

In July 2018, Meek defended himself against claims of biased reporting, arguing objectivity was not part of his job, and the majority of "people working with competing interests to the United States" that he'd met would be classified as "soulless monsters", though concluding that in his own breaking news stories there was "perhaps exculpatory information that makes someone who looks really guilty, not actually be guilty."[5] He noted that a lot of his recent work was with George Nader, the "foreign policy operative who helps to arrange a lot of meetings between a lot of important people", and quoted an unnamed source as explaining to him "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." .[5][75][76]

Child pornography prosecution

In 2021, Meek was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for crimes related to child pornography.[77] He was charged with transporting child pornography in February of the following year. In July 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and another of possessing child pornography.[11][12] He was sentenced to six years in prison in September.[78]

Following Meek's guilty plea, a headline falsely attributed to the New York Post began circulating online, asserting that Meek had "debunked" the discredited Pizzagate conspiracy theory. A fact-check article published by Reuters found that Meek had never published any investigation about or "debunking" Pizzagate while he worked at ABC News. The article also found that, in 2017, Meek co-authored an article about Russian propaganda in the Syrian war that mentioned Pizzagate in passing.[79]

References

  1. ^ a b List of Meek's awards, imdb.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference browne was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Profile of James Gordon Meek, ghbase.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.
  4. ^ James Gordon Meek, Gridlock Magazine, September 11, 2002. 9/11 First Anniversary, archive.org. Accessed July 30, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Houghton, Vince. Spycast. Covering the Front: A Conversation with James Gordon Meek, July 10, 2018
  6. ^ https://www.foxnews.com/media/ex-abc-news-journalist-james-gordon-meek-sentenced-six-years-prison-sadistic-child-porn
  7. ^ Ford, David (April 29, 2013). "ABC News Expands its Award-Winning Investigative Unit". ABC News. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Operation Pineapple Express. Simon & Schuster. August 30, 2022. ISBN 9781668003534. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  9. ^ https://www.foxnews.com/media/feds-recommend-15-year-prison-sentence-ex-abc-news-reporter-guilty-sadistic-child-porn
  10. ^ News Media Yellow Book. (2008). United States: Monitor Leadership Directories, Incorporated.
  11. ^ a b Rizzo, Salvador (September 29, 2023). "Former ABC News journalist gets 6-year sentence in child pornography case". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "An ex-investigative journalist is sentenced to 6 years in a child sexual abuse materials case". AP News. September 29, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  13. ^ "PR News | Meek, Former Edelman Executive, Washington Speechwriter, Dies at 86". odwyerpr.com. March 14, 2016.
  14. ^ James Gordon Meek, Gridlock Magazine, Adios Bubbster: Clinton was a gold-star newsmaker, January 19, 2001
  15. ^ "Teen-Beat. Scaley Andrew". teenbeatrecords.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "Scaley Andrew". Discogs. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  17. ^ "This Book Does Not Suck: Jon Fine Discusses The Indie Music Scene of the '80s and '90s". DCist. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  18. ^ "Amateur On Plastic: The Butch Willis Movie (DVD)". Spin Time Records. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  19. ^ Inheriting the Meek. (1996). Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  20. ^ a b Society of Professional Journalists, Credentialing for Online Journalists, October 2000
  21. ^ Kurtz, Howard (December 18, 1995). "Talk That's Anything But Cheap". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  22. ^ eBay Magazine, Issue 1, Premiere, "2000 Election", 1999
  23. ^ "UPI's Gridlock & Load | 2nd ANNIVERSARY BUZZ". May 25, 2000. Archived from the original on May 25, 2000. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  24. ^ Colby's Video Goodbye, TIME.com. Accessed July 30, 2023.
  25. ^ Hunt, Howard. "Bishop", 1999. pg. 388
  26. ^ Unnamed (May 13, 1997). Illustrators. RotoVision. ISBN 9782880463076. OCLC 68518293. OL 12643231M.
  27. ^ "DCi Newshound Mike Rosenberg". Archived from the original on April 19, 2003.
  28. ^ Rogers, Jim. "Facing Terror: The Government's Response to Contemporary Extremists in America", pg. 104
  29. ^ "American Journalism Review - Archives".
  30. ^ Ladies Home Journal, January 2003. "Throw Away the Key", by James Gordon Meek
  31. ^ WorldCat, Marquis: Who's Who?: James Gordon Meek (4779628631)
  32. ^ https://www.worldcat.org/title/70278401
  33. ^ https://www.worldcat.org/title/50558929
  34. ^ American Alpine Club, Nancy Feagin Interview by JM Meek, produced by James Gordon Meek, 1995 [1]
  35. ^ Rene A. Henry (2000). You'd better have a hose if you want to put out the fire. Windsor, CA: Gollywobbler Productions. ISBN 096745350X. LCCN 99095476. OL 61434M.
  36. ^ a b "Gridlock & Load | Launch Pad | Third Anniversary, Oct. 1999". August 19, 2004. Archived from the original on August 19, 2004. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  37. ^ James Gordon Meek (February 10, 2000). "Hacker Covered Tracks in Web Onslaught FBI Examining Computer Logs, Intelligence in Search for Culprit". The FBI can be quite clever when they have the data to work with, but I'm not going to assume they have enough information in this case," Pike told Meek at APBnews.com. Whether the logs are complete or not, the process of analyzing such data is typically arduous, time-consuming and resource-intensive, the FBI official said.
  38. ^ James Gordon Meek (October 5, 1999). "Defense Department Battles Cybercrime High-Tech Lab Aims to Hunt Hackers, Catch Crackers". Forensic examiner Dave Lang happily demonstrated the technicians' skill at retrieving bits of data off tiny fragments -- a floppy disk, say, that was cut up or badly mangled by a crook trying to conceal illicit material like child pornography. A disk could be melted, Lang said, but if an intact portion of the disk is salvageable, it can be spliced into a clean disk and examined. "If it can be picked up with tweezers, we can read what's on it," he said..
  39. ^ James Gordon Meek (August 27, 1999). "Cyberterror: Thing That Goes Bump in the Net? Some Wonder if the Goverment [sic] is Hyping Fear of Attack". "The FBI is an all-time grand champion of taking advantage of the perceived crisis du jour to enhance its authority and budget.
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  41. ^ "Gridlock & Load | Crew". Archived from the original on April 15, 2001.
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  43. ^ "Gridlock & Load | Washington War Groom | Like moths to the flame". August 27, 2004. Archived from the original on August 27, 2004. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
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  46. ^ "Jim Coleman, father of ex-Taliban hostage, was a man of honor: Reporter's Notebook". ABC News. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
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  48. ^ https://cha.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/cha.house.gov/files/11_05_homeland_security.pdf
  49. ^ Peter L. Bergen, The Osama bin Laden I know: an oral history of al-Qaeda's leader (New York, Free Press, 2006), ( ISBN 0743278917/ ISBN 9780743278911), pg. xxxiii.
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  54. ^ "Accused ISIS 'Beatle' on trial for brutal kidnappings, faces mothers of American victims". ABC News. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  55. ^ "ISIS 'Beatle' accused of murdering Americans found guilty on all charges". ABC News. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  56. ^ Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case (2010), United Kingdom: St. Martin's Press.
  57. ^ "Plot to Attack N.Y. Foiled - Transit Tunnels to N.J. Called Targets", The Washington Post, July 8, 2006.
  58. ^ "Feds say 'real deal' plot on NY-NJ tunnel is foiled". AP via ABC4.com. July 7, 2006.
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  61. ^ a b "Daily News' Terror Scribe Joins Peter King's Court; 'It's Kind of Like Working In a Think Tank'". Observer. February 17, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
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  64. ^ Shanfeld, Ethan (February 1, 2023). "Former ABC News Producer Arrested on Child Pornography Charge". Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
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  68. ^ Ross, Brian; Christie, Megan; Meek, James (April 13, 2017). "'Behind #SyriaHoax and the Russian propaganda onslaught'". ABC News.
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  71. ^ "3212 UN-REDACTED | Double Exposure Film Festival 2021".
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  76. ^ "Mueller has evidence that Trump supporter's meeting with Putin ally may not have been a chance encounter: Sources". ABC News.
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  79. ^ "Fact Check-Fabricated New York Post headline on ex-ABC journalist". Reuters. August 15, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.

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