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Evan Gershkovich: U.S. Spy or Simply Naive?

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U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal, and the rest of the mainstream press are up in arms over the arrest by Russian officials of 31-year-old WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich. The Russians are charging Gershkovich with spying, a charge that the Journal and the U.S. government are vehemently denying. U.S. officials and the U.S. mainstream press are saying that Gershkovich is nothing more than a “political hostage.” Of course, the denials that Gershkovich is a spy are meaningless. If Gershkovich was recruited by the CIA while in journalism school as part of an updated Operation Mockingbird, the last thing he would do is reveal that fact to his superiors at the Wall Street Journal. Spies know that they are supposed to keep their spy status secret, even from their employers. Moreover, if Gershkovich does in fact work for the CIA, everyone knows that the CIA is going to lie about it. After all, let’s not forget that ...

Blowback and Russia’s Arrest of Evan Gershkovich

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In a press conference yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia desires to “reach an agreement” with respect to the return to the United States of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The reporter has been incarcerated for 250 days since his arrest for espionage against Russia.  Ever since his arrest, both the Journal and the U.S. government have vehemently denied that Gershkovich is a U.S. spy.  Of course, such denials are pretty worthless, given that if Gershkovich really was a spy, it is likely that both the Journal and U.S. officials would deny it. In fact, if Gershkovich was, in fact, a spy for the CIA, it is likely that he and the CIA would keep that secret from the Journal, in which case the Journal’s denials would be in good faith while those of the CIA would be lies. Moreover, it certainly would not surprise ...

Why the U.S. Secrecy Surrounding Evan Gershkovich?

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Last Friday, a Russian court, operating in secret, convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in a Russian penal colony. Ever since Gershkovich’s arrest in March 2023, I have written extensively about the case: https://www.fff.org/?s=Gershkovich The Journal and U.S. officials have responded to the verdict and sentence in the same way they have responded ever since Gershkovich’s arrest. They deny that he is a spy and say that he was simply doing his job as a reporter when he was arrested. They also say that Russia is simply engaged in taking Gershkovich hostage so that Russia can trade him for Russians held prisoner by the West. It might well be true that Gershkovich isn’t a spy, but the problem is that if he is a spy, the Journal and U.S. officials would still deny it. In fact, if Gershkovich was working, say, for the CIA as part of its ...

Should the Wall Street Journal Have Pulled Gershkovich Out of Russia?

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Ever since Russian authorities arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on charges of having violated Russia’s espionage laws, the Journal has steadfastly maintained his innocence. The Journal claims that Gershkovich is being held as a “political hostage.” That might well be true, but a question naturally arises: Are officials at the Wall Street Journal partially responsible for ...

Would Gershkovich Have a Better Chance of Acquittal at Gitmo?

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In an article criticizing Russia’s arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on charges of espionage, the Journal writes that “lawyers with experience in the Russian judicial process predict a journey through a justice system with the familiar features of Western courts but little of their substance.” The Journal, however, forgets something important: The United States has ...