Abby Rockefeller, 77, the great granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, is the latest of seven people to sign a petition seeking to persuade prosecutors to sign an affidavit swearing that they committed no misconduct in their prosecution of Keith Alan Raniere.
Also in the group of seven is Amanda Knox who was convicted of the murder of Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007, and then had the conviction overturned.
Abby Rockefeller is the eldest daughter of David Rockefeller and Margaret McGrath – and the granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller Jr. whose father John Sr. is widely considered the wealthiest American of all time, and the richest person in modern history.
David Rockefeller, Abby’s father, was an American banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation.
David Rockefeller is Abby’s father, and John D. Rockefeller is her grandfather.
Curiously, Abbe, as a college student, embraced Marxism, the politics of Fidel Castro and ultimately radical feminism, before pivoting to ecology in the ’70s.
The affidavit that Abbe Rockefeller and others want prosecutors to sign, names federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York who handled the Raniere case: US Atty Richard Donoghue, and his successor, Seth DuCharme, and AUSAs Mark Lesko, Tanya Hajjar, and Moira Kim Penza, who actually tried the case, winning a conviction at the end of a six week trial on seven counts including sex trafficking, racketeering, forced labor and identity theft.
The affidavit seeks to have prosecutors swear they
did not knowingly make any false or misleading statements to the public or media.
did not allow any federal agents to make any false statements to the court.
handled all potential witnesses properly and did not challenge any of them to change his or her opinions or beliefs
never threatened any potential witness with indictment to dissuade him or her from supporting the defense.
had no reason to suspect collusion or hidden financial motives among witnesses
believed witnesses who stated in open court they feared for their lives.
did not allow any witnesses to commit perjury
never tampered with evidence.
Like others who signed the petition in support of the affidavit, Rockefeller is not stating she believes Raniere is innocent or guilty.
As Amanda Knox explained, the petition supports the position that prosecutors should be held accountable and that a prosecutor should not object to signing an affidavit that merely requires them to attest they did not violate the law.
An epidemic of prosecutorial misconduct currently plagues America based on a lack of accountability or scrutiny of prosecutors, especially at the federal level, where conviction stats are often seen as more important that guilt or innocence.
The affidavit was written by Raniere from prison and emailed to his followers who call themselves “Make Justice Blind” (AKA “Nxivm 5”). The group consists of Nicki Clyne, Eduardo Asunsolo, Suneel Chakravorty, Michele Hatchette, and Marc Elliot.
The Nxivm-5: Marc Elliot. Suneel Chakravorty, MIchele Hatchette, Eduardo Asunsolo, and Nicki Clyne,
Their methods in handling the affidavit have been criticized as abrupt, eccentric and possibly detrimental to Raniere and the recently-sentenced Clare Bronfman who got handed a prison sentence three times longer than federal sentencing guidelines suggested.
Clare Bronfman went into court through the front door – for her sentencing hearing on September 30, 2020. She never came out, having been remanded into custody at the end of the hearing. Photo Courtesy Daily Mail.
There is no legal obligation for prosecutors to sign an affidavit presented by a defendant or his followers, yet the Nxivm-5 demanded that prosecutors sign it by Sept. 30 [the same day Bronfman was sentenced] and stormed the DOJ offices, with a camera, to deliver the affidavit and make their demand in person.
They were turned away and, not surprisingly, none of the prosecutors has signed the affidavit.
In addition to Rockefeller, and Knox there are five other names on the petition.
The latest two are:
Susanna Choe
Susanna Choe is found online and is named as the principal officer for Peace Accelerators, and the Executive Director of The Regeneration Fund and The Unification Fund with ICV (Investment Community Visibility).
The organizations she is associated with are obscure [and the descriptions of them are a little reminiscent of Raniere’s word salad writing style – though there is no known connection between Raniere and Choe]:
Peace Accelerators is a NYC non-profit and “21st-century peace movement of ethical futurists” who self describe as “dedicated to co-creating solutions as efficiently as possible by harmonizing people, planet and technology.”
The Investment Community Visibility {ICV] of which Choe purportedly is CEO self-describes as “building a community of extraordinary individuals who, by virtue of their wealth, knowledge and caring, can advance corporate responsibility, capitalize businesses at significant levels, and influence systemic and sustainable change in the world.”
Choe describes herself as “a humanitarian and futurist with an educational background in international affairs.”
Her mission is to “evolve the planetary governance system to share resources effectively, empower humanity to collaborate for collective action”.
Another signer of the Raniere petition is Alissa Bush who, on the petition, indicates her organization is the NYC Street Theater, which was founded two months ago.
The website says, “NYC Street Theater was founded by actress, dancer, and activist, Alissa Bush in August of 2020 in response to the devastating impact of the global pandemic on the character, culture, and leadership of one of the greatest cities in the world.”
It is not known if NYC Street Theater has staged any performances or has any scheduled in the future.
Frank Report has already named the other signers of the Raniere petition:
They are:
Amanda Knox
Amanda Knox – the American woman who spent almost four years in an Italian prison following her conviction for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher. The conviction was later overturned.
Walter Pavlo
Walter Pavlo – a speaker on white-collar crime and federal criminal cases. He writes for Forbes Magazine and is an author of several books.
Valentino Dixon
Valentino Dixon – spent 27 years in prison for murder. He was exonerated and freed from prison in 2018 after another man confessed to the crime.
Diana Davison
Diana Davison – founder of The Lighthouse Project, a Canadian non-profit that helps people falsely accused of sexual assault and works to expose cases of wrongful convictions.
The stated goal of the Nxivm-5 is to bring public awareness to prosecutorial misconduct. The real goal is to help their Vanguard, Keith Raniere, get out of prison. So far they have gotten some publicity, mostly negative and probably heightened concerns by the judge and prosecutors that Raniere exerts a dangerous control over his followers, which will likely result in him getting not only a life sentence but an assignment to a supermax prison and solitary confinement.
The awkward behavior of the Nxivm-5 probably helped in securing extra prison time for Clare Bronfman.
Their stated goal – to bring accountability to prosecutors – is a worthy one. They have help from a group of individuals who collectively have some clout. Their biggest problem is they launched their effort based on a single convict – Raniere – who is perhaps one of the most reprehensible scoundrels in custody today.
His prosecutors may have abridged due process, maybe they did some things Raniere accuses them of doing – but that does not change the fact that he himself is a monster, solely concerned with getting himself out of his jam.
Raniere does not care one whit about prosecutorial misconduct. He didn’t care one bit that the antics of his bizarre Nxivm-5 – timed to act just as Bronfman was to be sentenced – would possibly hurt her.
He cares about getting out. It’s not going to happen and all the money of Rockefeller, Bronfman, and Salinas and the notoriety of Amanda Knox, Allison Mack or Nicki Clyne won’t change the outcome one bit.
This monster will be in prison for life.
The sooner the Nxivm-5 understand that, the better it will be for everyone.
Meantime, if they really care about prosecutorial misconduct, let us see them take up other cases and other causes.
It won’t happen. Just as the Nxivm-5, calling themselves “The Forgotten Ones” danced and twerked in front of MDC – to supposedly bring attention to the plight of prisoners – was actually done solely for one prisoner – Raniere – the Nxivm-5, now calling themselves “Make Justice Blind” – are not interested in making justice blind for all but for one rascal only.
Keith Raniere with his disciple Emiliano Salinas, son of the former president of Mexico, Carlos Salinas. Justice would have to be blind, and deaf and without a conscience, if she were to let this maniac out on the streets again.
It’s funny, while justice may be blind, in court when he sentenced Clare Bronfman, after he saw Clare try to intimidate a victim through a manipulative apology, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis said, “I saw what you did… this judge is not blind.”
No he’s not blind. And he is going to – with his eyes wide open sentence Keith Raniere to life – with or without the affidavit.
Viva Executive Success!
