A commenter, Animus Liber, making use of the testimony of Lauren Salzman, opines that the photos of Camila, when she was 27, whether revealing a scar or not, were collateral. These were not taken with a free will – or, as the Latin meaning of “animus liber” is – with a “free mind.”
In fact , as readers know, “Animus in consulendo liber” (Latin: “A mind unfettered in deliberation”) is the official motto of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It originated from The Conspiracy of Catiline by Roman historian Sallust and was translated by Charles Anthon as “a mind unfettered in deliberation.”
A sketch of Roman historian Sallust whom I would like to think of as our own Animus Liber. Anybody who expresses that they see any resemblance between Sallust and Lauren Salzman will be pummeled and ejected from Frank Report, then tarred and feathered and run off the internet.
Lauren Salzman
By Animus Liber
Suneel Chakravorty wrote to Judge Komittee “I was informed that these photos were voluntarily and happily taken by the founding sisters of DOS as a ritual before meetings and were not meant for anyone to use as collateral.”
It will be interesting to see how attorney Neil Glazer responds to that statement. Firstly, the first-line DOS slaves had to be collateralized at the time that those group nude photos were being taken, so it seems extremely unlikely to me that you could make the argument that they were taken in a 100% free and voluntary manner.
Secondly, while some (Nicki Clyne) may still say they were done out of free will, I imagine there are other DOS first-line slaves that would contradict that, including presumably Camila.
Thirdly, Lauren Salzman’s testimony (under oath) also contradicts the assertion that the group nudes were photos were voluntarily and happily taken.
Q. Did the defendant impose requirements about what the photographs should look like?
LAUREN: Yes. Well, generally, I mean, we were supposed to be uniform, so like all looking the same. So one time, like Daniella had a baseball cap and we got feedback that either we all had to wear hats or nobody had to wear hats. Nobody should wear hats. So we were to be uniform, fully frontally naked, the brand should show, and we should appear happy in the pictures. Like if we weren’t happy, we got feedback that we weren’t happy and we needed to retake the picture.
[…]
Q. When the defendant [Keith Alan Raniere, who was their slave master] gave feedback on the photographs, would you sometimes have to retake the photographs?
LAUREN: Yes. Whenever there was feedback given on the photographs, we incorporated the feedback and retook the
picture with the feedback incorporated.
Q. What does that mean, when you incorporated the feedback?
LAUREN: We made a change that was suggested. If we didn’t look happy, we did a picture that was happier. If our legs weren’t spread enough, we had to spread our legs more. Whatever the feedback was, we did it.
[…]
Q: How did you feel about the photographs?
LAUREN: I had mixed feelings about the photographs. I mean, for me it was very uncomfortable. […] I tried to make jokes or make it fun or try to think of like fun themes that we could do, like, to take the pictures which made it easier for me to do it and to feel okay doing it. And it made it more comfortable between all of us. But it was really difficult, and I didn’t want to be doing it. […] I was there pretending that I was happy taking sexual pictures with the people he was preferring to have sex with instead of me, and that — it was — sometimes it was very difficult. Like I tried to make it fun, and sometimes it was fun and I could have fun doing it. But a lot of times, it was just very painful and hard to put on a happy face for that.
I have been wondering whether to blank out the face of Camila and as I ponder it, I think I will blank it out on this post. After all, if it is true – and I think it is – that Raniere got this woman when she was a child and held her essentially captive until she escaped after his arrest – she is a bona fide and true victim. In any event, these eight women would pose three times a week fully nude and send the photos to Raniere. What kind of an asshole does that? Were the women fools too? That’s hard to say.
An additional point from the testimony on what was and wasn’t considered “collateral”:
LAUREN: I mean, we were taking naked pictures, up close vagina pictures three times a week. So I was told that wasn’t considered collateral, but to me, that was very weighty collateral because it was not something I would ever want anybody to see and there was a lot of it.
Keith Raniere instructed his first line DOS slaves to make the pictures conform to what he wanted – some three times a week.
Given the sensitive nature of the photos and the fact that they absolutely can be used as blackmail material in the right context, the fact that Raniere many times instructed their contents, and that the DOS masters were collateralized at the time that they took them, I think it’s hard to argue that they were not collateral.
Also, side question out of curiosity. Did Nicki sign the Protective Order?
***
[Editor’s Note: It is highly unlikely that Nicki signed the protective order. Although she was a target at one time, she was never charged. The Raniere defense team would not have given her sensitive discovery material. As far as I can see, there would be no meaningful reason to do so.].
I am reminded of a Keith Raniere canard: Keith told the first line DOS sisters after they sent him a smiley face full frontal nude picture, “I think this might be collateral, but I would need to see at least 10 more pictures to be sure.”
