Eduardo Asunsolo offered a summary of why he believes Keith Raniere deserves a new trial. See Asunsolo: Justice Demands a New Trial for Raniere!.
Heidi Hutchinson, who knew Keith Raniere, and whose sister died, she thinks, because of Raniere’s influence, has a response to Asunsolo.
By Heidi Hutchinson
[with some editor’s notes]
The misogyny is so thick and finely woven through Mr. Asunsolo’s arguments it’s offensive to read.
It’s the same assault Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman made on the slaves and used to deliberately “break” them, under the guise of “empowering” and enlightening them. The same “formula” they put forth in their “Rational Inquiry” curriculum built on hateful stereotypes of women and our wily ways that force decent men to cave to our evil will.
It’s the same old song Keith sung for decades — and it was already a dated one back in the ‘80s — so far out of tune with modern American culture and humanity it hurts to hear it.
Talk about a “proverbial tantrum” to get one’s way, as Eduardo is throwing one and having the (other) dancing slaves throw their clits and pricks up in our faces in the name of justice reform from the sexist, racist paradigm that robbed master Keith of his rights.
But to address a couple of Mr. Asunsolo’s discernible points:
– Asunsolo wrongly claims that the “date stamp” on Camila’s photo file is what investigators relied on to determine she was underage.
In fact, the telltale ‘date stamp’ that gave away her age at the time the photos were taken was Camila’s appendicitis scar. The scar did not appear in the nude photos taken when — as she stated at Keith’s sentencing — Camila was 15 and was first raped by Keith after being trafficked and groomed from the time she was 13. Camila had her appendicitis operation when she was 16. So a picture without the scar would indicate it was taken before she was 16.
[Editor’s note: Raniere’s supporters said that there are adult nude pictures of Camila posed in the same way as the alleged underage pictures which do not reveal her scar. They said the scar is faint and not always visible in photos based on the lighting. They maintain that the alleged child porn nude photos were taken after Camila was over 18.]
– The evidence, the graphic pics of Camila from 2005, were presented to the jury at Keith’s trial with testimony from the FBI as to the fact that while the evidence was in their custody, the file was apparently accessed on September 18, 2018.
The DEFENSE, Marc Agnifilo, did not raise objections to that evidence in plain view of the facts, did not question the FBI witness on what may have been altered — if anything was, including the alleged “date stamp” — please don’t pretend that there is an issue of any alteration when it’s clear the only date in question was the date the file was accessed or breached, not altered. That was never alleged.
The question is why didn’t Agnifilo object? Even raise the possibility that the evidence may have been tampered with at the time the file was allegedly accessed on September 18, 2018 before being logged as FBI evidence?
Perhaps Agnifilo did not do so because he already knew the answer: that the evidence presented wasn’t altered. That the “computer trespass” of the Camila underage photos was limited to viewing or, perhaps, downloading the file?
Perhaps Mr. Agnifilo knows that the answers would further solidify the validity of the evidence. Or might expose their clients or their client’s contractors or other defense counsel to further criminal charges such as public corruption?
[Editor’s note: Agnifilo said, during the sentencing, that he did not dispute at trial that the photos were taken when Camila was 15. For Asunsolos’ detailed argument about tampering see Forensic Expert Steven Abrams: [Cami’s Child Porn] ‘Photo Evidence Is Unreliable and Should Have Been Excluded’ at Raniere’s Trial.]
One wonders if there wasn’t a NXIVM consultant — a la’ Kristin Keeffe such as Ben Myers or Steve Ose — again interning at the Albany DA’s office, to assist the defense in September 2018 —just as NXIVM consultants did in 2011 in the computer trespass case Clare Bronfman brought against NXIVM whistleblowers alleging computer trespass? … Why wasn’t the chain of custody on the Camila evidence before it was FBI logged tracked – in front of the jury at Keith’s trial through defense questioning?
[Editor’s note: Keith claims he did not have access or control of the hard drive. Agnifilo said Keith never shared the photos.]
We can speculate all day on why those questions weren’t asked at Keith’s trial with an FBI witness on the stand ready to respond under oath but what annoys me most at present is Asunsolo’s alteration and deliberate obscuring of the truth, in his false assertion that this “date stamp” was what determined Camila’s age at the time the lewd pics were taken. It was not and NXIVM’s own forensic expert reinforced that fact in his interview with Frank.
[Editor’s note: The forensic experts did admit in an interview with me that they could not 100 percent determine who made the alterations and that it could have been done conceivably prior to the FBI seizing the devices. However, they believed it was altered after the FBI had possession. They also agreed that the evidence of the photos should not have been used at the trial and that the defense should have moved to exclude it.]
Still, I feel a little sorry for Mr. Asunsolo because it’s clear he and the other slaves are being used on all sides. What’s unclear is whether or not he believes the lies he’s propagating or knows what a fool he’s making of himself.
[Editor’s note: After repeated interviews with Eduardo, I think he firmly believes in the truth of his assertions. He has said that he is willing to listen to evidence that would show he is wrong. But right now, he says, he has not seen such evidence. His main concern is that Keith may be injured or killed if he is assigned to a dangerous prison and believes that if he can establish that the child porn charges were wrong and that Raniere is not a pedophile, his life will be safer in prison. ]
Frank Parlato 
Janine Morrison 
J.J. O'Hara 
Richard Luthmann 
Marie White 
Paul Serran
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They are too late to bring this in – they had their chance at trial. You are just not allowed to bring things up at late stages like this particularly when the victim has already said she was underage. In fact, if they keep on with this the authorities are probably like to be able to find a few other underage girls to bring new charges against KR, younger than this one – in other words, this new allegation by the N5 could mean their great leader ends up being regarded as a proper paedophile as I believe the 1993 girl and others were younger than 15, rather than someone who had sex with a girl who was almost of age. Their defence could lead to the death of their leader in a way – if it leads to more charges of sex with much younger girls being brought.
It is pointless to raise it when the lady has already said she was 15. KR did so many things wrong – only a tiny amount of which were used against him at the trial- it just looks like clutching at straws for the remaining supporters to mention tampering: i.e., accessing of a photo file.
Let him. Let him spend the rest of his life focusing on the injustices trespassed against his righteous guru, and all that comes with it.
I was only responding to Eduardo’s latest statement in his post not to all the excuses, mutations and permeations being made to cover-up the cover-ups and fuck-ups that I have no doubt the defense is wholly responsible for.
Despite my reputation as an online agent provocateur, I have very limited computer skills but pretty accurate, “sensitive” bullshit detectors that are going off all over the place on here lately.
Along with some, unfortunate, long experience at how and how well NX-ers lie. They start with slipping in straw men, changing and confusing the facts and premise of the original argument just as Eduardo did by, voila’, turning a merely accessed file into an altered file, and one allegedly “altered“ on a date when NXIVM forces were purportedly not in control of or anywhere near the data from near or far.
Question for the techies on here: was hacking a possibility, especially if the file had ‘protections’ Keith and Nancy’s IT experts might have put on it at some point?
Asunsolo and his remaining associates from the NXIVM could be the same victims as our already awakened sacrifice. When will the Asunsolos wake up? Is there hope or never?
This was already answered in a previous comment to the Abrams referenced article:
Abrams: “And they know that because some of the access dates were changed to that day.”
“This means nothing really. If you right-click a file in Windows Explorer and access its property dialog, the access date-time is updated. None of the other date-times are modified. The file’s created date-time is only set when the file is created, and the modified date-time is updated when the actual contents of the file change.
Sure, anyone could technically modify any of those times if the OS allows it somehow. But if the FBI/prosecution is so corrupt, then it’s plausible that anyone within the system could muck with evidence even if the chain of custody is intact and nobody would know it.
Giving these idiots [the NXIVM 5] a platform to speak to the claim that this evidence doesn’t live up to ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ in order to raise doubt about the justice system and its enforcers (which are very serious charges) which they are doing just because their leader who was convicted on a preponderance of other charges and is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison is stupid.”
Also, it’s EASY to figure out if the images have been photoshopped or edited. Image file metadata and content are obviously distinct, and even if you manipulate the metadata, you still have to manipulate the content of the image if it contains damaging evidence. The biggest evidence against Raniere in the images (in addition to Cami’s testimony in her victim statement) is the appendectomy scar that is visible on Cami when she had the surgery at sixteen that doesn’t exist in the photographs when they were taken as a fifteen years old. This obviously means she was the latter when the photographs were taken. The only way the photographs weren’t taken at that time is if the content of the images were manipulated to edit out the scar, and that shifts the burden of proof onto the defense. If the content of the images contained even the remotest signs of being manipulated, then the defense would have had no qualms about putting an expert on the stand to argue for it. But they couldn’t because the images didn’t and that is what sunk Raniere. Access to files changing metadata doesn’t mean anything if the content of the files doesn’t change.
Hurray for modern technology in putting away a serial statutory rapist!
Yes, good post.
Great article, Heidi. Agree that Eduardo shows hate toward women.
Eduardo is a flying monkey from a psychopath. Usually, they are empaths. But they tend to be more narcissists themselves or codependents. I feel this guy is codependent. Seeking approval from Keith.
IDK, Mexican Lady. It’s difficult to separate the goats from the sheep without knowing them, personally.
Empaths and co-dependents, as you say, are often cult joiners but so are clever toxic people, who stick to the shepherd like a romao fish to a shark — feeding off the narcissists’ supply, doing their utmost to keep the shark and themselves satiated.
One thing Keith and Nancy are “genius” at is sizing people up. And they use tried and true “tools” or methods to get under the proverbial masks we all tend to wear to face the world. Keith’s farm animal analogy with the sheep AND goats, though borrowed from the Bible and the Koran, is accurate.
It’s been proposed here that Keith and Nancy eliminate (hmm) or screen out toxic people but that’s never really been the case. They USE toxic people who may already be corrupt or who are deemed corruptible — the “goats” — just as handily as the “sheep.” In fact, the goats are prolly more reliable, predictable than a sheep who might stray off or flock to a new shepherd.
I know Eduardo is a “piasono” to you. That’s an Italian word meaning fellow countryman, someone you can trust and relate to bc you’re from the same part of the world. But unless you personally know Eduardo, maybe you do, I wouldn’t be so quick to assume he’s an empath for that reason alone.
What he’s DOING is, again, extremely destructive and dangerous to himself and others. His brash display of misogyny alone puts him under suspicion and should not be discolored as anything other than what it is. He’s also lying – whether wittingly or not — and NXIVM’s own forensic expert, Mr. Abrams, knows it.
After re-reading his reports, etc. and in view of many other facts, I conclude, myself, that the date stamp alteration to a future date was likely done prior to the evidence ever coming into FBI custody to make it inadmissible and to make it appear that the picture file itself, not only the date, could have been tampered with by the FBI or DOJ.
All they needed, and OBTAINED, was a famous forensic expert to say so. And to keep Cami from testifying at trial, which they also did.
Please don’t let them play the “race card” on you. Between the sex card and the race card you’re being ‘folded’ with a winning hand.
And who says you can’t mix metaphors, lol?
Your way with words often makes me chuckle, Heidi. ‘throw their clits and pricks up in our faces in the name of justice reform’.
Happy to be of service. I’ve come to a deep understanding of the comedy/tragedy mask through my NXIVM experiences. Sometimes, I crack me up even if no one else gets it!
Heh – comedy/tragedy! That’s sinking my boat on a writing project of mine – I’m trying for dark comedy, but I’m having trouble finding a good way to express the humor in the situation. Maybe I just oughta write the whole thing in limerick. Keep laughing, Heidi; it’s good for the soul no matter what the circumstances.
Good luck with your project. I am a fan of dark humour. It has helped in times of grief but I expect it is hard to write by getting the balance and not pushing it too far onto the verge of being sick! .
I say: Laugh as much as possible. Sometimes, I think it can make things funnier when nobody gets it.
Asunsolo’s “main concern is that Keith may be injured or killed if he is assigned to a dangerous prison and believes that if he can establish that the child porn charges were wrong and that Raniere is not a pedophile, his life will be safer in prison.”
Okay, that sounds like an understandable goal, although I don’t see how it is possible. Keith has sexually abused several underage girls – and that’s been known since James Odato’s piece came out in the Times Union years ago. That cat is long out of the bag.
I do think that Raniere should be kept safe from harm in prison. His sentence is to be imprisoned – not to be raped or killed or beaten or anything else illegal. Prisons suck – focus your efforts on prison reform to make it safer for all inmates to do their time.
When you attempt to deny Keith’s culpability in sexually abusing women (I’m not going to say “alleged” – first hand experience here), you are ignoring and exacerbating the damage that was done to all those many women BY Keith Raniere. Sexual abuse is often traumatizing – none of those women need to have you denigrating their pain because you are afraid for your friend. Keith Raniere’s illegal actions put him where he is; he was a full grown, adult male who made those choices and did those actions.
This “main concern” is nothing new, L. Saving Keith’s and thereby all their RICO asses from Chomo status has been Keith & Nancy’s excuse to silence and discredit anyone they could who had firsthand knowledge of the statutory rapes or reported on those from the get-go.
Remember, Rhiannon REPORTED Keith in 1993 and, of course, Keith knew of it. I believe that possibility of being prosecuted — and, again, it still is and always has been prosecutable — motivated him and his accomplices all along.
I bet no one loves the RICO status, btw, more than Keith. A big part of the way he enslaves is to drag bigger and bigger names into his “sheep and goat herd” to shield himself from culpability by making them appear equally if not more so than he.
Pity it appears to have worked on the less “adult” Bronfman paid attorneys in this who apparently DID focus on covering up the pedophile crimes to at least the extent that Camila was cowed as a witness at trial and those heinous crimes went uncharged including the “Chomo” charges referred from the EDNY to the NDNY and have yet to be prosecuted.
Which leaves only the witnesses and evidence such as Camila’s pics and people like yourself, me, and the raped ones, standing in between Keith’s virgin bunghole and death. At least, in the warped view of the NXIVM left overs and such who are out to prove him innocent of these a-hole threatening accusations.
Try to take heart from the fact that many of us who have been reading here for a long time are well acquainted with the facts and evidence and have found you to be a person of integrity and deep feeling, Heidi. I don’t know you, but I hope you know that plenty of people here are not enjoying the gas lighting aspect of this generosity being extended, by the FR, to the cult apologists.
I’m not comfortable doing consultancy work for any nx sympathisers/remainders, I don’t accept that they are in good faith yet, however much I may wish them the courage to reconcile with the truth. All my sympathies are with the targets of Nxivm. The perpetrators, if not remorseful, deserve the full extent of lawful punishment.
Gotta say I wish we had seen some response form NDNY. I was hopeful, but I think the sentencing probably makes it a moot point for the DOJ. Frank has my email now – please feel free to contact me, Heidi. I don’t think I have anything directly relevant to share regarding Gina, but I may be able to shed some light on why/when he first started targeting teens. Lots of things slotted into place for me in talking to the FBI.