Former ABC News Journalist Pleads Guilty in Child Porn Case

From a Washington Post story by Salvador Rizzo headlined “Former ABC News journalist pleads guilty in child porn case”:

A former national security journalist for ABC News pleaded guilty to child pornography offenses Friday, and the federal prosecutor whose office handled the matter issued a rebuke of media reports last year that implied the reporter was being targeted in connection with his newsgathering.

The investigation into James Gordon Meek, an Emmy-winning producer who covered wars, terrorism and major crimes, began with a tip from the file storage company Dropbox about possible illicit material on an account he had registered. The charges in the case had nothing to do with his work as a journalist.

Meek, 53, admitted that he shared explicit images and videos of minors with two other users on a smartphone messaging app in 2020, according to documents filed with his plea. The FBI seized several devices during a search of Meek’s apartment in Arlington last year, and Meek admitted they contained “dozens of images and at least eight videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.”

After the hearing, the U.S. attorney in Virginia whose office handled the case released a statement criticizing reports published last year that implied Meek was being investigated for obtaining classified information during his newsgathering activities.

The first such report came from Rolling Stone, which detailed the search of Meek’s home and discussed his work extensively. Rolling Stone cited anonymous sources in reporting that investigators “allegedly found classified information on Meek’s laptop during their raid,” adding that it was possibly the first law enforcement search “to be carried out on a journalist by the Biden administration.”

Such an investigation would raise thorny First Amendment concerns. In 2022, acting on a pledge from President Biden not to seize journalists’ phone or email records, the Justice Department issued formal regulations restricting how federal prosecutors can pursue leak investigations.

But the Meek case was never about his reporting, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber said in a statement. In court filings and hearings in the case this year, the subject of classified information was not raised. The Justice Department policy barring searches of reporters’ records has exceptions for conduct that does not involve newsgathering.

“This case was never about the government threatening the First Amendment, because this District and the Department of Justice make every effort to protect the freedom of the press,” Aber said in response to a question about the Rolling Stone report. “This investigation was always about protecting children from sexual abuse.”

Rolling Stone and its parent company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The magazine published an update to its story in February, after Meek was arrested, noting that he was charged with a child pornography offense “eight months after the initial raid on his home.”

Meek’s plea deal with prosecutors allows him to appeal on narrow grounds. Defense attorney Eugene Gorokhov unsuccessfully argued at a hearing last month that U.S. authorities unconstitutionally seized Meek’s electronic data to build their case. A federal judge disagreed, but the plea agreement allows Meek to pursue the issue in higher courts.

In the meantime, Meek’s sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 29. He faces a minimum prison term of five years and a maximum of 40 years. Gorokhov declined to comment after the hearing Friday.

U.S. officials alleged earlier in the case that Meek communicated online with minors, persuading at least one girl to send photographs showing nudity. Meek did not admit to those allegations Friday, only to sharing explicit content on Kik, a smartphone messaging app, and possessing child sexual abuse materials on his devices.

Gorokhov emphasized throughout the case that authorities made “no allegation whatsoever that Mr. Meek had any physical contact with any minor, and … no allegation that Mr. Meek even attempted to meet a minor for improper purposes.”

Aber said prosecutors rarely comment on ongoing investigations, which “can lead to unwarranted speculation.”

“In today’s environment where the motivations of law enforcement are under intense scrutiny, it is imperative that the public understand that our investigations are conducted by the book, always to protect the American people — and especially our children,” Aber said. “The Department rarely, if ever, comments on ongoing investigations and it is unfortunate that the same silence that helps us preserve the integrity of the legal process can lead to unwarranted speculation of ill motives.”

Salvador Rizzo covers crime and justice in Virginia for The Washington Post. He was a reporter for The Fact Checker from 2018 to 2021 and previously covered New Jersey politics.