In our continuing series on Keith Raniere’s 2255 Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct his sentence, based on ineffective assistance of counsel, Raniere filed his motion pro se before Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis on April 17. It is currently the only motion before Garaufis, who was Raniere’s trial judge.
Garaufis denied Raniere’s Rule 33 motion. His Rule 33 motion advances his argument that the FBI tampered with evidence of child porn photos found on his hard drive. Raniere, through his attorneys, Arthur Aidala and Joseph Tully, are appealing the Rule 33 motion with the 2nd circuit.
Today, we turn to Raniere’s claim that there was a “Lack of Interstate Commerce Nexus for the Alleged Attempted Sex Trafficking of Jay” and that his lawyers “failed to argue that the government could not have proved the interstate-commerce nexus necessary for the attempted sex trafficking offense.”
Before we present the reader with Raniere’s argument, let us explain what “Lack of Interstate Commerce Nexus” means.
It applies to Count 7 in Raniere’s trial, which was the Attempted Sex Trafficking of Jay. Jay is Jessica Joan, who wished to remain anonymous at the time of the trial but has since written a book entitled: The Untouchable Jessica Joan.
A “nexus” to interstate commerce means there is a link between the alleged criminal activity and commerce across state lines. For sex trafficking to be a federal crime, the activity must involve interstate commerce in some way.
Raniere argues that while Jay crossed state lines from California to New York, she did not affect interstate commerce.
Raniere argued, “The foundational premise of the alleged attempted sex trafficking charge… lies in (Raniere’s) purported leadership within DOS, where he allegedly directed a hierarchical structure that led to a ‘seduction assignment’ for Jay.”
Keith Raniere’s brilliance was evident when he said that DOS, his secret master-slave sorority to empower women, would include helping women learn obedience.
Of course, anyone will do something they want to do; the actual test of obedience is to do tasks they do not want to do, Raniere said.
As Raniere argues:
“This task, given by Jay’s ‘master‘ within DOS, India, was not to engage in sexual contact but rather to have Mr. Raniere take a nude photograph of Jay, which she was then to forward to India as a demonstration of her commitment to her vow of membership in the organization.”
According to testimony at trial, Jay joined DOS in November 2016 and moved from California to Albany on January 11, 2017. India gave Jay the “seduction assignment” in March or April 2017, according to Jay’s testimony.
Raniere writes:
“Despite her involvement in DOS, Jay’s travels between Albany and LA, primarily through JFK airport, were, by her own admission, for employment purposes, not related to DOS activities.
“The prosecution attempted to tie the requisite interstate commerce element to Jay’s flights for employment, suggesting that this travel satisfied the interstate commerce requirement under 18 USC § 1591.
“The government’s assertion that Jay’s employment-related travel constitutes a nexus to interstate commerce, thereby fulfilling the jurisdictional prerequisites of 18 USC § 1591, is fundamentally flawed. This interpretation stretches the concept of interstate commerce beyond its reasonable bounds…
“The critical element for federal jurisdiction under 18 USC § 1591 demands a substantial link to interstate commerce, which is absent in this scenario. The employment-related travel of Jay bears no relation to the DOS-related assignment, rendering the government’s jurisdictional claim invalid…. The absence of a concrete and substantial connection to interstate commerce necessitates the vacating of the conviction on Count Seven.”
A few things to note:
Jay never posed for the photos. She left DOS instead.
Raniere explained his idea of seduction assignments as a test of loyalty – to do something outrageous with no questions asked – and that, as he further explained, it was an exercise in women being comfortable with expressing sexual desire with someone safe.
However, every seduction assignment by a female master assigned to a slave required the “safe” person to be none other than Raniere, who was secretly the grand master of all DOS members.
Raniere initially filed his ineffective assistance of counsel motion pro se. He has now retained attorney Deborah Blum, who has written to the court about amending the motion.
Deborah Blum.
Blum previously represented Raniere’s power of attorney Suneel Chakravorty, in a civil matter involving the Neil Glazer’s lawsuit against the Bronfman’s and Raniere.
