I think your characterization of Smith's indifference to the sting operation is a bit innacurate. Just after the advertisement you commented on, they mention how the difference between sting and entrapment operations are bllurry but "they've long since won out in the courts to do that...Whether that should be right or not, they run these entrapment operations all the time..." then discuss the overeach on similar war on terror operations, and To Catch a Predator probably setting up situations that would never otherwise happen.
While I appreciate and agree with your opposition to the assault on civil liberties and overempowerment of law enforcement agencies, to my ears Smith's main interest in this story is that Alexandrovich was arrested and then fled to Israel on bail, with the expectation that he's not intending on coming back for a trial.
At least thats my main interest in this, especially given his significant position in the Israeli National Cyber Directorate and him saying to NV police that he met FBI members and had a meeting with NSA scheduled. Doesn't Alexandrovich fit the profile of a classic flight risk and letting him leave is severe negligence at best? And given Israel previously claimed he was never the subject of arrest and he clearly was, the story is still intriguing regardless of the associated hysteria or legitimacy/effectiveness of pedo sting operations.
That's covering his bases while still screaming pedophilia! The basis of this hysteria is that Israel is protecting pedophiles who assaulted US children. None of this is true, even directionally.
He don't know the circumstances of why and how he was able to fly back to Israel, but the story wouldn't have legs if there if it was there was no "pedophilia" and no "Israel".
You're a moron. Israel does not offer the right of return to anyone in particular, any Jewish person has a right to citizenship and I'm not sure that in these particular cases they even went through that process.
You know nothing about the specifics of these cases, just have an overwhelming hatred that makes you believe dumb things.
It makes total sense that criminals would flee to another country they can access because it will almost certainly delay things. Do you know the stats on other countries and the percentage of successful extraditions? No you have not fing clue, you just hate Jews and that colors your whole warped worldview
Really you are going to double down on your lie Jew? Why do you people always do that?
“Failures in Israel’s legal system, particularly around pedophilia, expose deep-rooted justice and accountability issues affecting society. Offenders exploit Israel’s Law of Return to evade consequences, with high-profile cases like Malka Leifer’s highlighting extradition and legal obstacles”
I never said it exists for offenders you evil lying Jew. What I said is Israel gives zero fucks if the people migrating there are child rapists which is evil. Kind of like you Jew.
Israel is the pedo capitol of the world, good job evil Jews.
“In 2020, a report on CBS claimed that 60 sex offenders from the US had fled over the years to Israel and were living out in the open within religious and observant communities.
Leifer was a case in point. She was a former school principal in Australia, where she was accused of 74 counts of child sexual abuse and rape. Leifer escaped to Israel in 2008 after the accusations first surfaced, and it took 13 years and more than 60 court appearances for her extradition to finally go through.
Yes, this is the Jewish state and should be open to all types of Jews, but even that has limits. The members of Knesset who passed the law in the 1950s understood this when they added in Section 2b, which grants the Interior minister authority to deny citizenship to people who have a criminal record or pose a danger and threat to the State of Israel.”
Let's see if he comes back to the US on his appointed appearance date. And let's see if the US government takes steps to pressure Israel to ensure his return if he does not.
Claims that Israel protects from extradition pedophiles who assaulted US Orthodox Jewish children under its "law of return" are made by an organization called Jewish Community Watch, operating out of Brooklyn.
CBS News aired a report about JCWs attempts to track down pedophiles who fled the US and went to Israel back in November of 2020.
There was no victim in this case so no comparison.
JCW was covering legitimate issues where Jewish pedophiles would disappear into Israel, blend in with say an ultra Orthodox community and the government was not effective at finding and arresting them, not the same as protecting/covering for a pedophile
"the government was not effective at finding and arresting them" is not the same as "protecting".
Uh ... yeah. Sure. The government just simply cannot find and apprehend these perpetrators.
If only the government there had access to technology that helps them track people. But, no, it's Israel. It's just not a sophisticated high tech place. I hear they barely even have the internet. It's basically still in the Bronze Age. Just a backwards country that cannot find and monitor people. Yessiree, the perpetrators have disappeared for good.
Who is buying this argument?
And, once again, I assert that the victims were in fact American children in these JCW cases.
Also, in the Alexandrovich case, "there was no victim ... so no comparison" is not a convincing argument either. There really is a comparison, as the kind of crime is the same.
But since in the Alexandrovich case there's apparently no actual minor involved, it should be *easier* for Alexandrovich to defend against, not harder. He should be happy to appear and make his case. And Israel should have zero problem sending him back, by force if necessary, in order to show good faith in its relationship with its most valuable ally in the world: America.
Even so, I'll be amazed if Clark County Nevada can get Alexandrovich back to the US to face the local justice system.
Sir, you have come to preconceived conclusions without knowing any facts. Israel is made up of many homogeneous communities that the government doesn't have easy access to.
Israel uses surveillance for terrorism so Palestinians tend to be surveiled, Israeli citizens actually have civil protections. Israel absolutely does prosecute rapists, it even put a President in jail for rape.. and btw the children victims in question were all Jewish, so how does that tie in to the conspiracy
"the children victims in question were all Jewish"
What are you saying -- that somehow American Jewish people are not really American?
These children were US citizens in the United States. They were victims of sexual crimes. The fact that they're Jewish does not take away their standing as Americans or their right to justice.
And even if they were all foreign citizens, the fact that these crimes occurred in the US means the US has a right and a responsibility to prosecute the criminal perpetrators. It doesn't matter where the victims or the perpetrators are from.
If Israel truly has a system of local governments that somehow prevent Israel's national government from apprehending and extraditing criminals who committed crimes in, say, New York, then US prosecutors and US attorneys should *never* allow an Israeli the freedom to leave America before trial.
In the well known case of Malka Leifer where an ultra Orthodox official was involved in protecting her, he was forced to resign and indicted once this was discovered
Tracey lied and knowing it was a lie, endorsed the '40 beheaded babies' hoax. The blood of the hundreds of thousands murdered, raped, tortured, starved by his zionist masters is on his hands. He is far worse than Julius Streicher, I hope that when we punish him, he suffers far worse than Streicher.
Michael, I’m generally a fan of your writing and appreciate what I call your principled skepticism. But seriously dude you need to study “entrapment” as a legal defense because you seem to suggest that people making arrangements for amorous encounters with minors on the internet are ‘entrapped’ because of the internet platform’s terms of service.
Here is the California Jury Instruction defining ‘entrapment’ in criminal cases (I could not find Nevada’s). This definition of entrapment, which has survived all sorts of appellate court scrutiny, is a pretty straightforward and reasonable and not close to the definition you seem to suggest is or should be the law of the land.
If a 30+ year old individual is on the internet chatting about amorous conduct with someone else and receives ANY hint or clue that the person he or she is chatting with is a minor the conversation should END. If one party to the conversation starts complaining about over productive parents or drama around her locker, the conversation should END.
It is a grown adult’s duty to make certain that anyone he or she is initiating amorous contact with or planning for amorous contact with is an adult. Terms of service don’t come close to excusing an adult from exercising that duty.
In the declaration accompanying Mr. Alexdrovich’s arrest states the task force’s investigating detective states the OCE (or decoy) “was acting like a 15 year old” & that the conversation was recorded. I hope that conversation is released in full. I hope you understand the legal definition of entrapment and can see just how far off from it you are in this article.
I generally define entrapment as the government manufacturing crimes that wouldn't otherwise exist but for the government's involvement, and then taking proactive steps to ensnare citizens in those government-manufactured crimes. I have criticized entrapment in a wide variety of contexts, including the "War on Terror," prosecution of "right-wing extremists," and more. I consider these "child predator" entrapment schemes as existing in the same context as the other entrapment schemes I've criticized. I'm aware that there's an ongoing legal debate around what constitutes "entrapment," and that courts have ruled that tactics similar to what were undertaken in the Las Vegas scheme are not unlawful, but that doesn't preclude me from making an argument that certain tactics do in fact constitute entrapment. It's an ongoing, live debate, and anyone is entitled to make arguments as to what they view as the proper definition of "entrapment."
Sorry, I stop reading when I see "But seriously dude." This might seem arbitrary, but it's just a rule of mine -- I'm not obliged to substantively respond to online commenters who feel the need to start off by condescendingly addressing me as "dude."
Well okay, mock me for using Southern California slang. Then address the substantive points I've made.
You are using a legal term with a highly specific definition and you are using that term incorrectly. Very incorrectly. If you feel zero obligation to address that you shouldn't be taken seriously.
I'm not making a formal legal argument here. I'm aware that courts have upheld similar schemes in the past, such as the "To Catch a Predator" schemes, and found that the tactics employed do not constitute unlawful entrapment. That doesn't preclude me from assessing that certain tactics still constitute entrapment. Just like if someone calls you something vile and false, you can call it "slanderous," without necessarily arguing that it would meet all the necessary elements of slander in a formal legal context.
Fair enough, I think you should be more careful with the way you use that word. 1. The probable cause declaration from a Las Vegas police detective is on the internet, why not post it? 2. I hope the full recorded conversation between Mr. Alexdrovich & the OCE (decoy) is released. I don’t think that recording will make Mr. Alexdrovich look good, but I’ll admit it if I’m wrong.
I’ve been following your work on the Alexandrovich case closely, and I think you’ve nailed the core problems with these manufactured stings. There’s one angle I haven’t seen many people emphasize that I think strengthens your analysis.
Normally, when an intelligence-linked official from a close U.S. ally gets into legal trouble here, the arrest is either kept quiet, charges are downgraded, or the whole thing is handled administratively behind the scenes. That’s how the U.S. and its allies usually protect each other’s operatives — no public spectacle, no headlines. In fact, the standard play is to avoid embarrassment at all costs.
But in Alexandrovich’s case, the opposite happened: his name, government position, and ties to Israel’s National Cyber Directorate were splashed across local Vegas media and then global outlets almost immediately. That’s not how you treat someone you’re trying to shield. If this was really about “special treatment,” the simplest way to protect him would’ve been to keep the arrest under wraps.
So the fact that it was so highly publicized actually contradicts the popular claim that he got off easy because “Israel controls the U.S.” If anything, the exposure itself was humiliating for Israel and suggests either a bureaucratic slip — local cops moving ahead before Washington realized who they had — or a deliberate choice to put the story out there as leverage.
I think this is an important wrinkle: the publicity undermines the notion that he was secretly protected, and points instead to either incompetence or a calculated embarrassment.
Michaels right, he’s allowed to type whatever bullshit he wants here even if it’s devoid of any substantive or plausible legal analysis. The main goal is to use contrarian sensationalism to drive social media engagement, anyway. Go Michael Go!
Dude you have completely sold out to the pedo state. Did they threaten your family or something? You have radically changed, you are no longer the charming autistic guy who sometimes hosts System Update when Glenn is away.
Get in a witness protection program or something, don’t sell out to evil. I am quite certain for example you know your attacks on Whitney Webb and Dave Smith are damaging to the dissident community and alternative media in general. You and Matt Taibbi are the sellouts of the year.
I certainly can. We know from testimony from child trafficking victims at Epstein Island that many rich and powerful people sexually abused children there. We also know the Maxwell family is connected to Israelis intelligence, ie Mossad. Whitney Webb is correct on this issue smear merchant. And to think I used to like you on System Update, if Glenn ever has you on again which I doubt, I will immediately switch off, your new propensity to smear people trying to get to the bottom of how Mossad and U.S. intelligence agencies use child sexual abuse to benefit Israel is vile, shame on you. You have become a lapdog of rich powerful child rapists, shame on you.
Ah, yes, we "know" from vague "testimony". Epstein mythologists must resort to vaguery because their myth is built on the shakiest of foundations.
How about you name just two (yeah just two!) "child trafficking victims at Epstein Island" that alleged "that many rich and powerful people sexually abused children there"? Go ahead then.
How old were these alleged "children"? When was this supposedly "testified" to?
As a new subscriber, I may have to re-think my subscription, as I did not know I would be joining a bunch of hysterical nut jobs who believe in "the pedo state" and think Michael writes what he does because "they" have threatened his family. We need a new term for this particular type of insanity. Part paranoia, part hysteria, and, to use an everyday term, part low IQ.
Mr. Tracey -- The WSJ has a long piece reporting on today's events. The comments section is, not surprisingly, filled with nonsense and ignorance, so I took a paragraph from one of your postings -- a paragraph about how kooky Maria Farmer is -- and posted it along with a link to that essay of yours. I hope it helps. The WSJ is supposed to have intelligent readers, but I was hard pressed to find a single comment that wasn't filled with the usual uninformed hysteria.
Michael seems to be operating on the assumption that sting = entrapment. Also seems to be suggesting, indirectly, that we should wait until crimes against children are committed before making arrests, and so these preemptive ops are all nefarious and motivated solely by lavish funding.
I really hope Alexdrovitch’s taped convo is released .
Thank you for posting the entrapment jury instructions
I generally define entrapment as the government manufacturing crimes that wouldn't otherwise exist but for the government's involvement, and then taking proactive steps to ensnare citizens in those government-manufactured crimes. I have criticized entrapment in a wide variety of contexts, including the "War on Terror," prosecution of "right-wing extremists," and more. I consider these "child predator" entrapment schemes as existing in the same context as the other entrapment schemes I've criticized. I'm aware that there's an ongoing legal debate around what constitutes "entrapment," and that courts have ruled that tactics similar to what were undertaken in the Las Vegas scheme are not unlawful, but that doesn't preclude me from making an argument that certain tactics do in fact constitute entrapment. It's an ongoing, live debate, and anyone is entitled to make arguments as to what they view as the proper definition of "entrapment."
Yeah a guy who made an agreement with someone to meet them in persom who he thought was 15 specifically mentioning bringing a condom and then he actually shows up wasn't going to actually DO that thing that he said he was going to do, right? Are you actually retarded now Michael, or are you playing a retard on tv for new neo-con friends? Are you proud of yourself now running defense for Zionist state pedos?
In this case it’s not just terms of service. It is, at least according to Michael’s reporting, a reasonably secure age verification process that involves government IDs. Why shouldn’t people be allowed to rely on this sort of process, if it’s actually implemented?
As for parents or lockers or other clues, all that is purely hypothetical. We have no idea of what the conversation entailed.
Look, I’m sure that he probably believed the girl was a youthful-looking prostitute. It’s pretty unlikely that he thought this nubile girl was just charmed by him. But I really would like to know what it means that the undercover agent was “acting as” a fifteen year old.
Micheal Tracy is once again attempting to obfuscate the guilt of Epstein and his Israeli colleagues by making Dave Smith a bad guy for wanting off the Trump bandwagon. Smith made his exit primarily on trumps bombing of Iran, after he campaigned on not starting new wars. If he finds the coverup of Epstein files additionally foul, that’s a big club. If he finds that for the umpteenth time, Israel is wrapped up in a pedo controversy unsavory, also big club. There’s a gigantic difference between regretting a Trump vote, and voting for the only other viable candidate. Smith didn’t just want off the bus, he wanted to be first off. Because doing the bidding of Israel was especially problematic if it involved more war, anywhere.
If you weren’t such an attention whore, you’d simply make your case as to the fallacy of the entrapment. But you can’t. So you’re going to drag another attention whore into debate, where you will lie, exaggerate and tell unrelated stories in an effort to platform your self. You have the “defend Epstein, redefine pedo, obfuscate Israeli involvement “ lane all to yourself. That lane leads to irrelevance and career suicide. Don’t turn back. Hammer down.
There’s a pretty obvious reason why you have that lane all to yourself. But look how fast you’re going!
I think these are valid points. Both Glenn Greenwald and Jimmy Dore expressed the common view that Trump was a wild card and his record of no new wars in his first term might lead to promising expectations in his second. We were all wrong, but Dave Smith was not alone in that.
The second point is that no matter what this Zionists official did or did not do—it doesn’t matter if he was framed for illegally selling popsicles—he was arrested and charged, then allowed to flee to Israel. Extradition is unlikely.
That’s troubling.
Scott Ritter, a much honored Marine, patriot, and weapons inspector during the WMD debacle, served serious time in prison for a similar sting.
“In 2011, Ritter was convicted of several criminal offenses after engaging in sexually explicit online activity with a police officer who was posing as a 15 year-old girl.”
Unfortunately, Scott Ritter didn’t have the foresight to have a Zionist, Israeli born, US Attorney on hand to set him free.
I would think it not excessive to at least retain Alexandrovitch’s passport until his court date. (Today’s Jimmy Dore show addresses these questions.)
Brilliantly stated. So why the Tracey obsession with swing wide contrarian views. It feels like he’s doing someone’s bidding. But who would intentionally choose Tracey as their advocate?
I guess I missed the part where Trump “started a war” - seems like every dumbass wringing their hands about that move was proven completely wrong but let’s gloss over that part. Dave Smith is a card carrying idiot in any event.
Chuck, spare us the smoke and mirrors. There has never been a more slavishly pro-Israel president than Donald Trump—he moved the embassy to Jerusalem, shredded the Iran deal at Netanyahu’s urging, showered Israel with weapons, and green-lit its worst excesses. While Israel was waging open-air slaughter in Gaza, Dave Smith was telling his millions of followers to vote for Trump. That’s the record. Kamala Harris is hardly a champion of Palestinian rights, but the only meaningful pressure Israel has ever faced in Washington has come from the Democratic side—not from the MAGA circus Smith signed up for.
Smith didn’t back Trump out of some tortured anti-war conscience; he did it because he knew Trump meant clicks, followers, and career growth. He happily rode shotgun while Israel massacred civilians, then staged his “principled” exit the moment Trump rattled sabers at Iran. That’s not courage, that’s opportunism.
So don’t try to dress this up as some noble awakening. Smith was complicit in amplifying the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, and now he wants credit for being first to bail. You can sneer about “attention whores” all you like, but the truth is obvious: Smith chose Trump to build his brand, full stop!
Yes, Dave is now forced to continue down the path that began when he joined AOC in hysterically calling for impeachment. He made a total fool of himself and is incapable of saying ‘I got it wrong’. Arrogance is sort of his thing
Great stuff, Michael! A Crusade Like No Other! Mocking the outrage at pedophilia! What's next - joining The FP to mock the babies Israel's starving in Gaza!? Wow! Talk about Daring!
The author’s most recent attempt to show he is the smartest guy in the room and it is another spectacular fail.
As Einstein said the measure of intelligence is the ability to change one’s mind - which Smith has and yet to the author that is something to ridicule.
You applaud Dave smith for being able to criticize Trump after supporting him because half of MAGA seem(ed) unable to do so. You have to understand that under no circumstance was Kamala going to even mention Epstein’s name let alone investigate the high profile Americans involved in his sex tradficking or financial schemes. Trump was the only shot, and it failed.
My main interest in the whole Epstein/pedophile thing is the blackmail angle. Was Epstein an agent of Israel and was the purpose of his pimping to compromise important Americans and cause them to support Israeli policy? We have been fighting wars in Israel's interest and funding their destruction of Gaza, so it would be useful to know if this insanity was motivated by criminal activity. I don't get the feeling that anyone in Washington wants to get to the bottom of this.
As they say follow the money. Israel doesn’t need to blackmail our politicians with honey pots. Who gives more $$$ out in election cycles, the Israeli Lobby or the Palestinian Lobby. Answer that question and you know why politicians are more apt to take Israel’s side. Not to mention the religious angle. It’s almost impossible in Res States to win a general election without the support of Evangelical Christians who are pro-Israel. So if you’re a Republican politician are you turning away votes and $$$$ ?
Damn! Imagine if these critics actually read your articles and then remembered what they read! But at least you have the "defend Epstein, redefine pedo, obfuscate Israeli involvement" lane all to yourself if you should ever get blind drunk and decide to write anything that even remotely resembles that description.
" ... there were literally no children involved at any point in this whole stupid charade — up to and including the adult entrapment agent who was allegedly “acting” as a 15-year-old. Law enforcement agencies generally can’t and don’t use actual minors as “decoys.” "
Your criticism is that the accused perpetrators never interacted with people below the age of 18 and therefore this whole case is a nothingburger. But your own comment answers that objection. The government does not use minors in these operations because that would be unethical / illegal.
You fail to understand apparently that the alternatives to Donald Trump were unacceptable for a vast number of explicit policy and other explicity reasons. Trump's behavior relative to Epstein is not proven one way or the other. There are possible reasons for Trump trying to deep six the Epstein files other than his alleged participation. If US Intelligence Agency "methods" routinely include promoting pedophillia for blackmail purposes, that would be an issue that could deep six the Nation. Maybe it should.
I want to thank you for your work — especially on the Epstein mythology, the Tom Alexandrovich case, and more recently your tweet about John Bolton’s raid. These are the kinds of moments that reveal whether someone is genuinely principled or just selective in their outrage, and you’ve shown again and again that you are willing to apply the same standards regardless of whether the target is your ally or your enemy.
I share your disdain for Israel and for Bolton’s neoconservative politics. Both represent projects I cannot stand. And yet, like you, I also see the importance of calling out law enforcement corruption and manufactured prosecutions even when they’re deployed against people or states I dislike. That, to me, is the core of civil libertarian principle: you don’t only defend rights when it’s easy, you defend them when it’s uncomfortable.
That’s why I found your coverage of the Alexandrovich case so refreshing. You cut through the hysteria and pointed out what should have been obvious: the “minor” was a police decoy inserted into Pure, an adults-only app with government ID verification; no child victim existed; Alexandrovich believed he was engaging with an adult; and all eight men arrested in the sting were treated identically and released on $10,000 bond. This was classic entrapment theater, the same kind of operation that wastes taxpayer money and creates crimes out of nothing. You rightly framed it that way.
By contrast, I was deeply disappointed in Glenn Greenwald’s treatment of the same case. For years, I’ve admired him as one of the rare journalists willing to stand up against FBI entrapment schemes, manufactured terror plots, and police overreach. But his framing here — headlining it as “Israeli Official Allowed to Flee After Pedo Sting” — simply echoed the prosecutor’s narrative. He repeatedly referred to Alexandrovich as having “lured a minor,” when in reality the “minor” was a decoy and no underage person was ever involved. He implied Alexandrovich was given special treatment, when in fact every suspect got the same bail. In short, he abandoned the skepticism that has defined his career.
It’s especially galling because Greenwald himself knows how damaging weaponized sexual narratives can be. He’s acknowledged his past in adult entertainment, he married David Miranda when Miranda was 19 and he was 37 — roughly the same 18-year gap police claimed existed between Alexandrovich and the decoy — and he has just been the victim of a sex-tape leak that he condemned as a “malicious political attack” without offering evidence. He more than anyone should know the danger of amplifying distorted sexual framings. Yet, because the accused was Israeli, he set aside his own principles and parroted the state’s rhetoric.
That’s the difference between you and Glenn. Both of you are anti-Israel. But where you stayed consistent, even when the target was Israeli, he dropped his principles in favor of political animus. The same applies to Epstein: you have been willing to question the mythology and demand evidence, while others play into sensational narratives. That takes courage and integrity.
So I want to say thank you — sincerely. In a media environment where so many bend their standards depending on who’s in the dock, your consistency stands out. Even when you’re attacking figures I dislike (Israel, Bolton, Epstein mythology), you’re doing it in a way that upholds principle and refuses to adopt the lazy framing of law enforcement or the state. That’s rare, and it’s the kind of journalism I want to support.
I think your characterization of Smith's indifference to the sting operation is a bit innacurate. Just after the advertisement you commented on, they mention how the difference between sting and entrapment operations are bllurry but "they've long since won out in the courts to do that...Whether that should be right or not, they run these entrapment operations all the time..." then discuss the overeach on similar war on terror operations, and To Catch a Predator probably setting up situations that would never otherwise happen.
While I appreciate and agree with your opposition to the assault on civil liberties and overempowerment of law enforcement agencies, to my ears Smith's main interest in this story is that Alexandrovich was arrested and then fled to Israel on bail, with the expectation that he's not intending on coming back for a trial.
At least thats my main interest in this, especially given his significant position in the Israeli National Cyber Directorate and him saying to NV police that he met FBI members and had a meeting with NSA scheduled. Doesn't Alexandrovich fit the profile of a classic flight risk and letting him leave is severe negligence at best? And given Israel previously claimed he was never the subject of arrest and he clearly was, the story is still intriguing regardless of the associated hysteria or legitimacy/effectiveness of pedo sting operations.
That's covering his bases while still screaming pedophilia! The basis of this hysteria is that Israel is protecting pedophiles who assaulted US children. None of this is true, even directionally.
He don't know the circumstances of why and how he was able to fly back to Israel, but the story wouldn't have legs if there if it was there was no "pedophilia" and no "Israel".
Israel is know to offer right of return to Jew child rapists facing trial for raping kids. Try again with fewer lies Jew.
You're a moron. Israel does not offer the right of return to anyone in particular, any Jewish person has a right to citizenship and I'm not sure that in these particular cases they even went through that process.
You know nothing about the specifics of these cases, just have an overwhelming hatred that makes you believe dumb things.
It makes total sense that criminals would flee to another country they can access because it will almost certainly delay things. Do you know the stats on other countries and the percentage of successful extraditions? No you have not fing clue, you just hate Jews and that colors your whole warped worldview
Really you are going to double down on your lie Jew? Why do you people always do that?
“Failures in Israel’s legal system, particularly around pedophilia, expose deep-rooted justice and accountability issues affecting society. Offenders exploit Israel’s Law of Return to evade consequences, with high-profile cases like Malka Leifer’s highlighting extradition and legal obstacles”
https://www.humanium.org/en/exposing-pedophilia-and-legal-failures-in-israel/
Jews are truly disgusting, it’s no mystery why everyone hates you.
Did you read the quote you posted you imbecile? "Offenders *exploit* Israel's law of return" the law of return doesn't exist for offenders
I never said it exists for offenders you evil lying Jew. What I said is Israel gives zero fucks if the people migrating there are child rapists which is evil. Kind of like you Jew.
Israel is the pedo capitol of the world, good job evil Jews.
“In 2020, a report on CBS claimed that 60 sex offenders from the US had fled over the years to Israel and were living out in the open within religious and observant communities.
Leifer was a case in point. She was a former school principal in Australia, where she was accused of 74 counts of child sexual abuse and rape. Leifer escaped to Israel in 2008 after the accusations first surfaced, and it took 13 years and more than 60 court appearances for her extradition to finally go through.
Yes, this is the Jewish state and should be open to all types of Jews, but even that has limits. The members of Knesset who passed the law in the 1950s understood this when they added in Section 2b, which grants the Interior minister authority to deny citizenship to people who have a criminal record or pose a danger and threat to the State of Israel.”
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-712631
Let's see if he comes back to the US on his appointed appearance date. And let's see if the US government takes steps to pressure Israel to ensure his return if he does not.
Claims that Israel protects from extradition pedophiles who assaulted US Orthodox Jewish children under its "law of return" are made by an organization called Jewish Community Watch, operating out of Brooklyn.
CBS News aired a report about JCWs attempts to track down pedophiles who fled the US and went to Israel back in November of 2020.
There was no victim in this case so no comparison.
JCW was covering legitimate issues where Jewish pedophiles would disappear into Israel, blend in with say an ultra Orthodox community and the government was not effective at finding and arresting them, not the same as protecting/covering for a pedophile
"the government was not effective at finding and arresting them" is not the same as "protecting".
Uh ... yeah. Sure. The government just simply cannot find and apprehend these perpetrators.
If only the government there had access to technology that helps them track people. But, no, it's Israel. It's just not a sophisticated high tech place. I hear they barely even have the internet. It's basically still in the Bronze Age. Just a backwards country that cannot find and monitor people. Yessiree, the perpetrators have disappeared for good.
Who is buying this argument?
And, once again, I assert that the victims were in fact American children in these JCW cases.
Also, in the Alexandrovich case, "there was no victim ... so no comparison" is not a convincing argument either. There really is a comparison, as the kind of crime is the same.
But since in the Alexandrovich case there's apparently no actual minor involved, it should be *easier* for Alexandrovich to defend against, not harder. He should be happy to appear and make his case. And Israel should have zero problem sending him back, by force if necessary, in order to show good faith in its relationship with its most valuable ally in the world: America.
Even so, I'll be amazed if Clark County Nevada can get Alexandrovich back to the US to face the local justice system.
Sir, you have come to preconceived conclusions without knowing any facts. Israel is made up of many homogeneous communities that the government doesn't have easy access to.
Israel uses surveillance for terrorism so Palestinians tend to be surveiled, Israeli citizens actually have civil protections. Israel absolutely does prosecute rapists, it even put a President in jail for rape.. and btw the children victims in question were all Jewish, so how does that tie in to the conspiracy
"the children victims in question were all Jewish"
What are you saying -- that somehow American Jewish people are not really American?
These children were US citizens in the United States. They were victims of sexual crimes. The fact that they're Jewish does not take away their standing as Americans or their right to justice.
And even if they were all foreign citizens, the fact that these crimes occurred in the US means the US has a right and a responsibility to prosecute the criminal perpetrators. It doesn't matter where the victims or the perpetrators are from.
If Israel truly has a system of local governments that somehow prevent Israel's national government from apprehending and extraditing criminals who committed crimes in, say, New York, then US prosecutors and US attorneys should *never* allow an Israeli the freedom to leave America before trial.
In the well known case of Malka Leifer where an ultra Orthodox official was involved in protecting her, he was forced to resign and indicted once this was discovered
The fuck it wouldn't jackass
Jews and their endless lies to defend mass murder of children and rape of children, and then they wonder why people don’t like them? Srs?
Your head is mush
Tracey lied and knowing it was a lie, endorsed the '40 beheaded babies' hoax. The blood of the hundreds of thousands murdered, raped, tortured, starved by his zionist masters is on his hands. He is far worse than Julius Streicher, I hope that when we punish him, he suffers far worse than Streicher.
https://x.com/mtracey/status/1711811916098851207
you seem reasonable.
Michael, I’m generally a fan of your writing and appreciate what I call your principled skepticism. But seriously dude you need to study “entrapment” as a legal defense because you seem to suggest that people making arrangements for amorous encounters with minors on the internet are ‘entrapped’ because of the internet platform’s terms of service.
Here is the California Jury Instruction defining ‘entrapment’ in criminal cases (I could not find Nevada’s). This definition of entrapment, which has survived all sorts of appellate court scrutiny, is a pretty straightforward and reasonable and not close to the definition you seem to suggest is or should be the law of the land.
If a 30+ year old individual is on the internet chatting about amorous conduct with someone else and receives ANY hint or clue that the person he or she is chatting with is a minor the conversation should END. If one party to the conversation starts complaining about over productive parents or drama around her locker, the conversation should END.
It is a grown adult’s duty to make certain that anyone he or she is initiating amorous contact with or planning for amorous contact with is an adult. Terms of service don’t come close to excusing an adult from exercising that duty.
In the declaration accompanying Mr. Alexdrovich’s arrest states the task force’s investigating detective states the OCE (or decoy) “was acting like a 15 year old” & that the conversation was recorded. I hope that conversation is released in full. I hope you understand the legal definition of entrapment and can see just how far off from it you are in this article.
https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/3400/3408/
I generally define entrapment as the government manufacturing crimes that wouldn't otherwise exist but for the government's involvement, and then taking proactive steps to ensnare citizens in those government-manufactured crimes. I have criticized entrapment in a wide variety of contexts, including the "War on Terror," prosecution of "right-wing extremists," and more. I consider these "child predator" entrapment schemes as existing in the same context as the other entrapment schemes I've criticized. I'm aware that there's an ongoing legal debate around what constitutes "entrapment," and that courts have ruled that tactics similar to what were undertaken in the Las Vegas scheme are not unlawful, but that doesn't preclude me from making an argument that certain tactics do in fact constitute entrapment. It's an ongoing, live debate, and anyone is entitled to make arguments as to what they view as the proper definition of "entrapment."
Sorry, I stop reading when I see "But seriously dude." This might seem arbitrary, but it's just a rule of mine -- I'm not obliged to substantively respond to online commenters who feel the need to start off by condescendingly addressing me as "dude."
Well okay, mock me for using Southern California slang. Then address the substantive points I've made.
You are using a legal term with a highly specific definition and you are using that term incorrectly. Very incorrectly. If you feel zero obligation to address that you shouldn't be taken seriously.
I'm not making a formal legal argument here. I'm aware that courts have upheld similar schemes in the past, such as the "To Catch a Predator" schemes, and found that the tactics employed do not constitute unlawful entrapment. That doesn't preclude me from assessing that certain tactics still constitute entrapment. Just like if someone calls you something vile and false, you can call it "slanderous," without necessarily arguing that it would meet all the necessary elements of slander in a formal legal context.
Fair enough, I think you should be more careful with the way you use that word. 1. The probable cause declaration from a Las Vegas police detective is on the internet, why not post it? 2. I hope the full recorded conversation between Mr. Alexdrovich & the OCE (decoy) is released. I don’t think that recording will make Mr. Alexdrovich look good, but I’ll admit it if I’m wrong.
I did post, and quote from, the Henderson PD arrest report in the original article I wrote on the subject.
Michael,
I’ve been following your work on the Alexandrovich case closely, and I think you’ve nailed the core problems with these manufactured stings. There’s one angle I haven’t seen many people emphasize that I think strengthens your analysis.
Normally, when an intelligence-linked official from a close U.S. ally gets into legal trouble here, the arrest is either kept quiet, charges are downgraded, or the whole thing is handled administratively behind the scenes. That’s how the U.S. and its allies usually protect each other’s operatives — no public spectacle, no headlines. In fact, the standard play is to avoid embarrassment at all costs.
But in Alexandrovich’s case, the opposite happened: his name, government position, and ties to Israel’s National Cyber Directorate were splashed across local Vegas media and then global outlets almost immediately. That’s not how you treat someone you’re trying to shield. If this was really about “special treatment,” the simplest way to protect him would’ve been to keep the arrest under wraps.
So the fact that it was so highly publicized actually contradicts the popular claim that he got off easy because “Israel controls the U.S.” If anything, the exposure itself was humiliating for Israel and suggests either a bureaucratic slip — local cops moving ahead before Washington realized who they had — or a deliberate choice to put the story out there as leverage.
I think this is an important wrinkle: the publicity undermines the notion that he was secretly protected, and points instead to either incompetence or a calculated embarrassment.
Michaels right, he’s allowed to type whatever bullshit he wants here even if it’s devoid of any substantive or plausible legal analysis. The main goal is to use contrarian sensationalism to drive social media engagement, anyway. Go Michael Go!
Dude you have completely sold out to the pedo state. Did they threaten your family or something? You have radically changed, you are no longer the charming autistic guy who sometimes hosts System Update when Glenn is away.
Get in a witness protection program or something, don’t sell out to evil. I am quite certain for example you know your attacks on Whitney Webb and Dave Smith are damaging to the dissident community and alternative media in general. You and Matt Taibbi are the sellouts of the year.
Can you define what you mean by “the pedo state”?
I certainly can. We know from testimony from child trafficking victims at Epstein Island that many rich and powerful people sexually abused children there. We also know the Maxwell family is connected to Israelis intelligence, ie Mossad. Whitney Webb is correct on this issue smear merchant. And to think I used to like you on System Update, if Glenn ever has you on again which I doubt, I will immediately switch off, your new propensity to smear people trying to get to the bottom of how Mossad and U.S. intelligence agencies use child sexual abuse to benefit Israel is vile, shame on you. You have become a lapdog of rich powerful child rapists, shame on you.
Ah, yes, we "know" from vague "testimony". Epstein mythologists must resort to vaguery because their myth is built on the shakiest of foundations.
How about you name just two (yeah just two!) "child trafficking victims at Epstein Island" that alleged "that many rich and powerful people sexually abused children there"? Go ahead then.
How old were these alleged "children"? When was this supposedly "testified" to?
Surely you can back up your Qanon fantasy, right?
Q Anon, ha keep the ad hominems coming evil pedo defender.
Scummy pedo enabling piece of shit!
https://scheerpost.com/2021/11/30/the-jeffrey-epstein-cover-up-pedophilia-lies-and-videotape/
As a new subscriber, I may have to re-think my subscription, as I did not know I would be joining a bunch of hysterical nut jobs who believe in "the pedo state" and think Michael writes what he does because "they" have threatened his family. We need a new term for this particular type of insanity. Part paranoia, part hysteria, and, to use an everyday term, part low IQ.
Don't punish me for the wackos!
Mr. Tracey -- The WSJ has a long piece reporting on today's events. The comments section is, not surprisingly, filled with nonsense and ignorance, so I took a paragraph from one of your postings -- a paragraph about how kooky Maria Farmer is -- and posted it along with a link to that essay of yours. I hope it helps. The WSJ is supposed to have intelligent readers, but I was hard pressed to find a single comment that wasn't filled with the usual uninformed hysteria.
What next, all in on the genocide in Gaza?
Your logical fallacy is ad hominem. Hint next time actually address the arguments rather than engaging in Soviet psychiatry.
I agree with this 100%.
Michael seems to be operating on the assumption that sting = entrapment. Also seems to be suggesting, indirectly, that we should wait until crimes against children are committed before making arrests, and so these preemptive ops are all nefarious and motivated solely by lavish funding.
I really hope Alexdrovitch’s taped convo is released .
Thank you for posting the entrapment jury instructions
I generally define entrapment as the government manufacturing crimes that wouldn't otherwise exist but for the government's involvement, and then taking proactive steps to ensnare citizens in those government-manufactured crimes. I have criticized entrapment in a wide variety of contexts, including the "War on Terror," prosecution of "right-wing extremists," and more. I consider these "child predator" entrapment schemes as existing in the same context as the other entrapment schemes I've criticized. I'm aware that there's an ongoing legal debate around what constitutes "entrapment," and that courts have ruled that tactics similar to what were undertaken in the Las Vegas scheme are not unlawful, but that doesn't preclude me from making an argument that certain tactics do in fact constitute entrapment. It's an ongoing, live debate, and anyone is entitled to make arguments as to what they view as the proper definition of "entrapment."
Yeah a guy who made an agreement with someone to meet them in persom who he thought was 15 specifically mentioning bringing a condom and then he actually shows up wasn't going to actually DO that thing that he said he was going to do, right? Are you actually retarded now Michael, or are you playing a retard on tv for new neo-con friends? Are you proud of yourself now running defense for Zionist state pedos?
Always count on a Jew to sell out in the end.
In this case it’s not just terms of service. It is, at least according to Michael’s reporting, a reasonably secure age verification process that involves government IDs. Why shouldn’t people be allowed to rely on this sort of process, if it’s actually implemented?
As for parents or lockers or other clues, all that is purely hypothetical. We have no idea of what the conversation entailed.
Look, I’m sure that he probably believed the girl was a youthful-looking prostitute. It’s pretty unlikely that he thought this nubile girl was just charmed by him. But I really would like to know what it means that the undercover agent was “acting as” a fifteen year old.
Tracey is just protecting zionist pedos. It's that simple
Micheal Tracy is once again attempting to obfuscate the guilt of Epstein and his Israeli colleagues by making Dave Smith a bad guy for wanting off the Trump bandwagon. Smith made his exit primarily on trumps bombing of Iran, after he campaigned on not starting new wars. If he finds the coverup of Epstein files additionally foul, that’s a big club. If he finds that for the umpteenth time, Israel is wrapped up in a pedo controversy unsavory, also big club. There’s a gigantic difference between regretting a Trump vote, and voting for the only other viable candidate. Smith didn’t just want off the bus, he wanted to be first off. Because doing the bidding of Israel was especially problematic if it involved more war, anywhere.
If you weren’t such an attention whore, you’d simply make your case as to the fallacy of the entrapment. But you can’t. So you’re going to drag another attention whore into debate, where you will lie, exaggerate and tell unrelated stories in an effort to platform your self. You have the “defend Epstein, redefine pedo, obfuscate Israeli involvement “ lane all to yourself. That lane leads to irrelevance and career suicide. Don’t turn back. Hammer down.
There’s a pretty obvious reason why you have that lane all to yourself. But look how fast you’re going!
I think these are valid points. Both Glenn Greenwald and Jimmy Dore expressed the common view that Trump was a wild card and his record of no new wars in his first term might lead to promising expectations in his second. We were all wrong, but Dave Smith was not alone in that.
The second point is that no matter what this Zionists official did or did not do—it doesn’t matter if he was framed for illegally selling popsicles—he was arrested and charged, then allowed to flee to Israel. Extradition is unlikely.
That’s troubling.
Scott Ritter, a much honored Marine, patriot, and weapons inspector during the WMD debacle, served serious time in prison for a similar sting.
“In 2011, Ritter was convicted of several criminal offenses after engaging in sexually explicit online activity with a police officer who was posing as a 15 year-old girl.”
Unfortunately, Scott Ritter didn’t have the foresight to have a Zionist, Israeli born, US Attorney on hand to set him free.
I would think it not excessive to at least retain Alexandrovitch’s passport until his court date. (Today’s Jimmy Dore show addresses these questions.)
Brilliantly stated. So why the Tracey obsession with swing wide contrarian views. It feels like he’s doing someone’s bidding. But who would intentionally choose Tracey as their advocate?
I guess I missed the part where Trump “started a war” - seems like every dumbass wringing their hands about that move was proven completely wrong but let’s gloss over that part. Dave Smith is a card carrying idiot in any event.
Your logical fallacy is ad hominem.
Ah, the debate team captain has logged on
Keep proudly proclaiming your idiocy for all to see, golf clap.
Dude your bio is hilarious.
You are profoundly retarded for a Jew. Most Jews are smart in a midwit kind of way, you don't even manage that.
Chuck, spare us the smoke and mirrors. There has never been a more slavishly pro-Israel president than Donald Trump—he moved the embassy to Jerusalem, shredded the Iran deal at Netanyahu’s urging, showered Israel with weapons, and green-lit its worst excesses. While Israel was waging open-air slaughter in Gaza, Dave Smith was telling his millions of followers to vote for Trump. That’s the record. Kamala Harris is hardly a champion of Palestinian rights, but the only meaningful pressure Israel has ever faced in Washington has come from the Democratic side—not from the MAGA circus Smith signed up for.
Smith didn’t back Trump out of some tortured anti-war conscience; he did it because he knew Trump meant clicks, followers, and career growth. He happily rode shotgun while Israel massacred civilians, then staged his “principled” exit the moment Trump rattled sabers at Iran. That’s not courage, that’s opportunism.
So don’t try to dress this up as some noble awakening. Smith was complicit in amplifying the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, and now he wants credit for being first to bail. You can sneer about “attention whores” all you like, but the truth is obvious: Smith chose Trump to build his brand, full stop!
Great post, subscribed.
Yes, Dave is now forced to continue down the path that began when he joined AOC in hysterically calling for impeachment. He made a total fool of himself and is incapable of saying ‘I got it wrong’. Arrogance is sort of his thing
Great stuff, Michael! A Crusade Like No Other! Mocking the outrage at pedophilia! What's next - joining The FP to mock the babies Israel's starving in Gaza!? Wow! Talk about Daring!
I think he's auditioning for a spot at the Weekly Standard, so yes anything is possible.
The question is not whether the guy was guilty or if these stings are entrapment but whether the others stung were similarly let go.
yes, the press release stated that all 8 suspects posted $10K bond and released.
The author’s most recent attempt to show he is the smartest guy in the room and it is another spectacular fail.
As Einstein said the measure of intelligence is the ability to change one’s mind - which Smith has and yet to the author that is something to ridicule.
The irony!
Thousands of words of deliberately missing the point: WHY was one defendant treated so differently?
You applaud Dave smith for being able to criticize Trump after supporting him because half of MAGA seem(ed) unable to do so. You have to understand that under no circumstance was Kamala going to even mention Epstein’s name let alone investigate the high profile Americans involved in his sex tradficking or financial schemes. Trump was the only shot, and it failed.
My main interest in the whole Epstein/pedophile thing is the blackmail angle. Was Epstein an agent of Israel and was the purpose of his pimping to compromise important Americans and cause them to support Israeli policy? We have been fighting wars in Israel's interest and funding their destruction of Gaza, so it would be useful to know if this insanity was motivated by criminal activity. I don't get the feeling that anyone in Washington wants to get to the bottom of this.
As they say follow the money. Israel doesn’t need to blackmail our politicians with honey pots. Who gives more $$$ out in election cycles, the Israeli Lobby or the Palestinian Lobby. Answer that question and you know why politicians are more apt to take Israel’s side. Not to mention the religious angle. It’s almost impossible in Res States to win a general election without the support of Evangelical Christians who are pro-Israel. So if you’re a Republican politician are you turning away votes and $$$$ ?
Israel is a terrorist State. Stop the Genocide. Free Palestine, and jail the War Crimonals.
Damn! Imagine if these critics actually read your articles and then remembered what they read! But at least you have the "defend Epstein, redefine pedo, obfuscate Israeli involvement" lane all to yourself if you should ever get blind drunk and decide to write anything that even remotely resembles that description.
" ... there were literally no children involved at any point in this whole stupid charade — up to and including the adult entrapment agent who was allegedly “acting” as a 15-year-old. Law enforcement agencies generally can’t and don’t use actual minors as “decoys.” "
Your criticism is that the accused perpetrators never interacted with people below the age of 18 and therefore this whole case is a nothingburger. But your own comment answers that objection. The government does not use minors in these operations because that would be unethical / illegal.
That doesn't mean the accused are innocent.
You fail to understand apparently that the alternatives to Donald Trump were unacceptable for a vast number of explicit policy and other explicity reasons. Trump's behavior relative to Epstein is not proven one way or the other. There are possible reasons for Trump trying to deep six the Epstein files other than his alleged participation. If US Intelligence Agency "methods" routinely include promoting pedophillia for blackmail purposes, that would be an issue that could deep six the Nation. Maybe it should.
My favorite band: Panic at the Pedo
Im concerned of your lack of concern with pedophiles fleeing to Israel with the help of US tax dollars.
Michael,
I want to thank you for your work — especially on the Epstein mythology, the Tom Alexandrovich case, and more recently your tweet about John Bolton’s raid. These are the kinds of moments that reveal whether someone is genuinely principled or just selective in their outrage, and you’ve shown again and again that you are willing to apply the same standards regardless of whether the target is your ally or your enemy.
I share your disdain for Israel and for Bolton’s neoconservative politics. Both represent projects I cannot stand. And yet, like you, I also see the importance of calling out law enforcement corruption and manufactured prosecutions even when they’re deployed against people or states I dislike. That, to me, is the core of civil libertarian principle: you don’t only defend rights when it’s easy, you defend them when it’s uncomfortable.
That’s why I found your coverage of the Alexandrovich case so refreshing. You cut through the hysteria and pointed out what should have been obvious: the “minor” was a police decoy inserted into Pure, an adults-only app with government ID verification; no child victim existed; Alexandrovich believed he was engaging with an adult; and all eight men arrested in the sting were treated identically and released on $10,000 bond. This was classic entrapment theater, the same kind of operation that wastes taxpayer money and creates crimes out of nothing. You rightly framed it that way.
By contrast, I was deeply disappointed in Glenn Greenwald’s treatment of the same case. For years, I’ve admired him as one of the rare journalists willing to stand up against FBI entrapment schemes, manufactured terror plots, and police overreach. But his framing here — headlining it as “Israeli Official Allowed to Flee After Pedo Sting” — simply echoed the prosecutor’s narrative. He repeatedly referred to Alexandrovich as having “lured a minor,” when in reality the “minor” was a decoy and no underage person was ever involved. He implied Alexandrovich was given special treatment, when in fact every suspect got the same bail. In short, he abandoned the skepticism that has defined his career.
It’s especially galling because Greenwald himself knows how damaging weaponized sexual narratives can be. He’s acknowledged his past in adult entertainment, he married David Miranda when Miranda was 19 and he was 37 — roughly the same 18-year gap police claimed existed between Alexandrovich and the decoy — and he has just been the victim of a sex-tape leak that he condemned as a “malicious political attack” without offering evidence. He more than anyone should know the danger of amplifying distorted sexual framings. Yet, because the accused was Israeli, he set aside his own principles and parroted the state’s rhetoric.
That’s the difference between you and Glenn. Both of you are anti-Israel. But where you stayed consistent, even when the target was Israeli, he dropped his principles in favor of political animus. The same applies to Epstein: you have been willing to question the mythology and demand evidence, while others play into sensational narratives. That takes courage and integrity.
So I want to say thank you — sincerely. In a media environment where so many bend their standards depending on who’s in the dock, your consistency stands out. Even when you’re attacking figures I dislike (Israel, Bolton, Epstein mythology), you’re doing it in a way that upholds principle and refuses to adopt the lazy framing of law enforcement or the state. That’s rare, and it’s the kind of journalism I want to support.