Ben Szemkus – who claims to have been to a NXIVM recruitment with Stormy Daniels, Wiener, Abedin, Alefantis, Schneiderman – “passes” lie detector test

According to a video posted by the Tanster – Ben Szemkus has passed a lie detector test.

Asked if he attended a NXIVM recruitment party where Stormy Daniels, James Alefantis, Anthony Weiner, Huma Abedin, and Eric Schneiderman were in attendance – in Connecticut, in 2007 – Ben answers, “yes.”

One can see the test administered by viewing a video the Tanster provides on her website:

http://www.thetanster.com/blog/2018/7/18/the-results-of-the-ben-szemkus-nxivm-polygraph-exam

The questions Ben was asked – all of which he answered “yes” – are:

1. Is your name Ben?
2. Did you attend a NXIVM recruitment in 2007?
3. Was Stormy Daniels, James Alefantis, Huma Abedin, Anthony Wiener, and Eric Schneiderman there…?
4. Were you aware that there were snuff films…
5. Were NXIVM parties at Richard Bransons’s Necker Island?

A few comments

One thing that struck me was that Ben says the NXIVM recruitment party took place in February 2007 and there was some discussion about parties at Necker Island.

It was my impression that the first NXIVM event at Necker Island was October 2007 [eight months later than the recruitment party Ben says he attended]. I recall Nancy Salzman telling me about the Necker event and it was my impression at the time that this was the first time NXIVM had used the Island owned by Branson.

Also surprising to me is that “snuff films” were shown.  I never saw any snuff films at any NXIVM events I attended – and none of my sources ever told me that snuff films were ever shown at any NXIVM-related event. The only ex-NXIVM members who ever reported seeing snuff films were those women who took the secretive Human Fright experiments conducted by Dr. Brandon Porter.

Again, I am not saying Ben is lying. Indeed the polygrapher – Steve Hamre – says he believes Ben is telling the truth.

Info about Hamre is available at his website https://www.hamrepi.com/

More Comments

Another detail Ben has stated – not for the polygraph – but in earlier statements:  that he had seen white calling cards for NXIVM strewn about in various nightclubs –  – with nothing on the card other than the word “NXIVM”.

As far as I know, NXIVM did not use such cards and the company would not in my opinion drop them in nightclubs as some kind of edgy advertising. Their recruitment was old fashioned “hard sell”  where members recruited people they know.

That’s not to say that it did not happen or Ben did not see them.

Ben’s concept that Yale girls would be recruited to teach foreign languages to children also does not comport with what I know about Rainbow Cultural Garden nannies – which is that NXIVM always recruited nannies strictly from natives of the countries where the language is spoken.

A Curious Gathering

When you consider the curious cast – – all of whom have come to recent notoriety – all coming together in Connecticut in 2007 for a NXIVM recruitment – makes for an intriguing gathering:

Stormy Daniels – then an unknown porn actress- now a notorious celebrity because of her liaison and payoff to/with Trump.

Eric Schneiderman – then a New York senator, now a disgraced former NYS AG – allegedly having committed sex crimes resembling those of Raniere’s.

Anthony Weiner – who was not married [and according to some sources not even dating] Huma Abedin, both at the party, introducing themselves as married – Weiner is in prison for sex crimes similar to Raniere. Abedin was a top aide of Hillary Clinton.

James Alefantis – a man unknown at the time  – who recently became known from to-date-unproven online allegations/conspiracy theories about his operations in the area of pedophila.

How and why this group would be together at a recruitment party of NXIVM in 2007 is unclear – absent some conspiracy theory. And yet- they appeared at a recruitment party – with Yale girls who were also being recruited as nannies – and where snuff films were shown. Since the Yale girls were not yet members – evidently Weiner, Abedin, Schneiderman, Alafantis – had no qualms about being known as connected to NXIVM.

Yet none of these people were ever known to take a NXIVM course – and we have the complete students’ list up until that time.

Why would they be there? Were they being recruited or were they already in NXIVM and helping to recruit or there merely to socialize with Raniere?  At a Yale girl’s smallish apartment? With Stormy Daniels headed off the to bedroom with Mack and Raniere and with snuff films shown?

This suggests a deeper much darker relationship – but why do this in front of Yale girls who are not yet members?

Personally – given the choice – I would wish Ben’s story were true. It would add more evidence for potential crimes to the NXIVM list of crimes.

I personally rather doubt it is true – given what we know.  Still, I would not call Ben a liar.

And he “passed” a lie detector test.

Larry Shea has a little to say on the topic of lie detector tests in our next post.

Frank Parlato