"Surviving the Smear Cycle"

A grieving testament to how lies shatter trust, turn brothers into strangers, and force a painful choice between belonging and truth; leaving you standing alone with what remains.

I never imagined that after everything I have endured; after prison, public humiliation, betrayal, and the slow, painful rebuilding of a life I once destroyed, that I would again find myself here, explaining my own truth to people who once believed me without hesitation.

Yet here I am.

Over the past few weeks, I have been the subject of relentless lies and calculated attacks by individuals who feed on outrage and thrive on attention. Rage is their business model. Subscriptions are the reward. And I became the means to an end. Many of you follow us all. As you should. Some of you immediately recognized what was happening and spoke out. Others did not. Others accepted their claims at face value and sent me messages so cruel, so deeply personal, that they questioned not only my credibility, but my integrity as a human being.

That is what truly hurts.

Not disagreement. Not skepticism. But the feeling of being disbelieved, again, after laying bare the most painful chapters of my life for the entire world to see.

Those attacks do not just live online. They have consequences in the real world. They caused irreparable harm, ending a professional relationship that spanned more than five years with the MeidasTouch Network. My podcasts and shows will continue, but they will no longer air on the network of three brothers I came to call my own. That is not a phrase I use lightly. I mean it. Losing that partnership feels like losing family.

And while the business relationship has ended, I believe, truly believe, that our friendship will survive this. Still, believing that does not dull the grief. It does not soften the sense of loss that comes when something meaningful ends not because of truth, but because of lies and noise.

When I was incarcerated at FCI Otisville, isolated from my family and stripped of dignity, I read for the second time in my life Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. Frankl wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing—the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” That sentence carried me through prison. It carries me now, as I try to choose grace over bitterness and resolve over despair.

You have often heard me quote former New York Mayor Ed Koch. I will use his framework again, with a slight adjustment. If you agree with me six out of twelve times, you should (support) me. If you agree with me twelve out of twelve times, you should seek a psychiatrist. I raise this because of my Friday post about prosecutors and the justice system; or as I call it, the Injustice System, and my lived experience within it. The headlines did not do the post justice so I ask you to read it. But my position has never wavered. I criticize the system because I was brutalized by it. More than once. That criticism comes from scars, not slogans. Regardless of who you are, justice must remain blind and equal to all.

As for the claims that I know more than I have said about Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, and their relationship; those claims are lies. Full stop. The cruel irony is that they cannot be disproven until all documents are released, something I and even my loudest critics are all calling for. As the old adage goes, you cannot disprove a negative.

So I am taking a step that is both necessary and bold. On Friday, I reached out to Congressmen Comer (R) and Garcia (D) of the House Oversight Committee to request guidance on submitting a sworn Declaration to Congress, under penalty of perjury, reaffirming everything I have consistently told you for years. I have also asked that it be read into the official record. They appear to be in agreement and will be contacting me this upcoming week.

I do not make this decision lightly. I was once charged with a 1001 violation. I know exactly what perjury means. I know where it leads. And after speaking openly about the trauma of prison and the PTSD that followed me home, I am doing this anyway; to put an end to lies that refuse to die.

Some have claimed that my Friday post was motivated by a desire for a pardon. Let me be honest. Of course I would welcome the erasure of a felony conviction. Who wouldn’t? But the request I have before the White House is far larger than me. Alongside my longtime friend Jesse Jackson Jr., with whom I co-authored a proposed executive order, I am seeking the emancipation of the stigma and lifelong burden of federal felony convictions for those who have completed their non-violent sentences. This would impact 70 million Americans; seventy, including one of the loudest individuals now attacking me.

This is what they are trying to derail.

A second chance. A chance to fully reenter society. A belief that redemption should mean something in America. President Biden was presented with this exact opportunity toward the end of his term. His team ignored it. The question remains whether we, as a nation, are brave enough to embrace it.

So I ask you to remain with me. To stay grounded in facts, not fury. Ignore the noise. I move forward now more alone than before; but not abandoned. Still choosing my way. Still believing that truth, even when it costs you, is worth defending.

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I HAVE NO TIME FOR DISTRACTIONS FROM THE HATERS.

HELP ME TO CONTINUE TO GROW OUR COMMUNITY.

AND, PLEASE SUPPORT INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS…

SUBSCRIBE. READ. LIKE. RESTACK.

Yeah, I know; you’re tired. This shit is exhausting.

Guess what? Me too.

But I’ve spent the last 8 years throwing punches in the dark so truth could get a little daylight. And now I’m asking you to step into the ring with me.

Because if you’re still reading this, you already get it:
This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a rally cry. A war drum. A line in the sand.

We are not passive observers of the downfall. We are the resistance. We call out the liars. We drag corruption by the collar into the sunlight. We say the quiet parts out loud; and we don’t flinch.

But here’s the truth: I can’t do this solo. Not anymore.

The storm is already here. We are standing in it. And it’s wearing stars and stripes like camouflage, preaching “freedom” while it sells fascism at retail.

So let me ask you:
Are. You. In?

Because this is not a scroll-and-forget read. This is a living, breathing, fire-breathing movement; and movements don’t move unless you do.

We need to be louder than spin, tougher than propaganda, and impossible to gaslight.
That takes more than clicks. More than likes.
It takes skin in the game.

So if you believe truth matters; if you’re sick of the bullshit, if you’re ready to stop screaming into the algorithm and start pushing back with purpose, this is your next step.

HERE’S HOW YOU PUT YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS:

• Become a paid subscriber. Fund fearless, unfiltered journalism that hits back.

• Share this with the loudest people you know; the ones who never sit down and shut up.

• Build the community. Amplify the message. Be the damn megaphone.

And yeah; Founding Members? The first 240 of you will get a signed, numbered, limited-edition Substack version of Revenge. That’s not just a collector’s item. That’s receipts. Proof you didn’t sit this one out.

But let’s be clear:

This isn’t about a book.
It’s about backbone.
It’s about calling out the gaslighters and refusing to be played.
It’s about locking arms and saying, “Not. On. Our. Watch.”

You want to make a difference?

Then make it; right now.

Because if we don’t fight for truth, no one will.
But if we fight together?

They can’t drown us out.

Let’s be so loud, they wish we were just angry tweets.
Let’s be unshakable.
Unignorable.
Un-fucking-breakable.

Let’s go!