TIMELINE
2016
Jan 5 2016: FAU terminates James Tracy
Tracy, in his imminently-filed lawsuit, would identify at least three persons as being involved in the conspiracy to fire him:
- John Kelly – President of FAU
- Dr Alperin – associate provost in charge of personnel affairs
- Bob Zoeller – President of FAU’s faculty union
Jan 9 2016: UFF-FAU (union) President Bob Zoeller posts an update to the union’s blog, regarding Tracy:
By now I’m sure you’re aware of the termination of Dr. James Tracy and have seen and/or read the continuing media accounts. While we are limited in what we can say about an ongoing personnel matter, the United Faculty of Florida has issued the following statement in the case of Dr. James Tracy and Florida Atlantic University:
The United Faculty of Florida has a legal and ethical obligation to provide fair and vigorous representation in all cases involving our members, the terms and conditions of their employment, and any disciplinary action. UFF and its representatives are doing just that in this case. Since this is a private personnel matter, UFF will not and cannot comment on any of the specifics of this case. The United Faculty of Florida is a labor organization, not an academic panel, and takes no position on Dr. Tracy’s research or any personal positions or opinions he may have. Our responsibility and focus are to ensure that due process and other rights as stipulated in the collective bargaining agreement are being adhered to as we would for any member of the bargaining unit. And those rights are not reserved only for those we agree with or whose speech we find a first glance to be acceptable. As a collective body, the union defends the rights of all the faculty we represent, regardless of how we as individual faculty may feel about the actions of any other faculty member.
Dr. Tracy is being represented by UFF counsel and has been since initial action by FAU in December. Counsel is researching the case and exploring options available to Dr. Tracy.
Bob Zoeller
UFF-FAU President
Jan 10 2016: Lenny receives threatening calls from Lucy Richards, who was apparently upset about Tracy’s firing (Williamson, 221)
January 14 2016: Tracy lets Thomas Johnson go as his counsel, hires Louis Leo (see exhibit 8d)
THE WITNESS: Yes, in January, 2016.
Q. Who did you hire?
A. Louis Leo.
Q. And, did you tell Mr. Williams that his services would no longer be required?
A. Mr. Johnson?
Q. Mr. Johnson, sorry. Thank you.
A. As I recall, there was e-mail communication between us, and I believe this is something that he read about in the newspaper.
Q. Right, and how did you respond when he said I read in the paper that you may have hired a new lawyer?
A. I would have to look at those e-mails, specifically. It’s been months since I’ve seen those. I don’t specifically know how I responded.
Q. Did you continue to use his services? Mr. Johnson?
A. No.
Jan 16 2016: Zoeller posts another update to the UFF-FAU blog, this time linking to a Chronicle of Higher Education article about Tracy:
Tracy notes this in his deposition:
Jan 19 2016: Starts “James Tracy Legal Defense Fund”
https://florida.intercreditreport.com/company/james-tracy-legal-defense-fund-inc-n16000000542
Jan 22 2016: Paypal boots Tracy
http://memoryholeblog.org/2016/01/22/paypal-shuts-down-mhbs-account/
Feb 1 2016: Appearance on the Jeff Rense show, alongside Jim Fetzer. The two offer a review of their various Sandy Hook theories, in between defending Tracy’s decisions that led to his ouster.:
- Fetzer states his belief that Tracy has “ten million dollar case” against FAU
- Tracy says nothing as Rense and Fetzer goes on an antisemetic rant vs. Lenny Pozner
Tracy describes the contributions he received from Fetzer/Moon Rock Books at this time:
Feb 28 2016: appears on “The People Speak” w Steve Johnson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phcTcvV167E
Feb 29 2016: Appearance on Truth Jihad
https://www.unz.com/audio/kbarrett_james-tracy-and-kevin-barrett-discuss-false-flags-academic-f/
Feb 2016 podcasts:
March/April 2016 podcasts:
April 7 2016: Posts “A Sandy Hook Parent’s Rogue Fundraising Operation” focusing on the HONR network.
The following day, he responds to a comment from user on the story, questioning whether Lenny Pozner is an intelligence asset given that the very research Tracy posted indicates someone with no special access to anything:
March 2016: Tracy is interviewed on “SGT Report” (later removed)
May 2016 podcasts:
April 5 2016: Posts “The Enduring Fraud of Lyin’ Lenny Pozner”
April 26 2016: Posts “PROFESSOR JAMES TRACY FILES CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT AGAINST FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY & FACULTY UNION” in which he announces his legal actions.
It gets coverage in the Washington Post, and Newsweek:
https://www.newsweek.com/james-tracy-florida-lawsuit-sandy-hook-conspiracy-452730
May 15 2016: Tracy posts “Francine Wheeler was Personal Assistant to DNC National Finance Chair”.
Since this possible appearance as an inept militarized policeman David and Francine, with a little help of folks like Francine’s former boss Maureen White, have made virtual careers out of their identity as mourning Sandy Hook parents turned gun control activists.
For example, in April 2013 the Wheelers collaborated in their presentation of the White House Weekly Address for the Obama administration, pointing to their apparent loss and calling on the US Congress to enact “common sense gun responsibility reforms [sic].”
Here David Wheeler performs at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s Brady Bear Awards for its campaign, “Imagine a Future Where No Child Is Killed With a Parent’s Gun.”
The ties between the Democracy Party establishment, Wall Street and the most significant event seized upon to further gun control measures in this country couldn’t be more clear. Yet this is something that major media outlets such as the New York Times are not interrogating, and with good reason, as they are integral components of this finely-tuned passion play.
June 2016 podcasts:
July-September 2016 podcasts:
August 12 2016: Posts “When Alex Jones Got ‘Pozner’d’
The post includes this curious disclaimer:
*While Dr. Kahleel’s NoDisinfo has been rightly criticized for seeing Zionist conspirators around almost every corner, his analysis of this important geo-ethnic angle of Newtown event is novel and worthy of consideration.
Meanwhile the linked “analysis” is merely high-octane ZOG conspiracy nonsense, and very clearly antisemitic:
Dozens of Mossad operatives are responsible for Sandy Hook. No one can doubt it. Americans, beware. Jewry is systematically attacking America, seeking to confiscate firearms, restrict freedoms, strip Americans of their resources, crush them economically. It is a malicious and well-planned goal.
October 10 2016 – In his latest podcast, Tracy interviews another fired academic, Danny Ledonne; at no point in the interview is it mentioned that Danny was the developer of “Super Columbine Massacre RPG!” and hosted the web forum dedicated to Columbine, which the Sandy Hook shooter was a regular user of. Tracy also appeared on an episode of Ledonne’s podcast.
Other October 2016 podcasts, note the rate at which they release is slowing down:
November 20, 2016: Posts “Four Years Later Alec Jones Still Confused by Sandy Hook” in which Tracy takes Jones to task for “sitting on the sidelines” rather than investigating the case (Jones had just posted a video “Alex Jones’ Final Statement on Sandy Hook.”)
November 23 2016: Tracy claims that his blog has been shut down (it soon comes back)
https://www.upressonline.com/2017/12/commentary-james-tracy-probably-wont-get-his-job-back/
(the blog was initially titled Memory Gap and so that is apparently the account name/original URL)
Although it appears the blog was restored within a few days, Tracy does not post any new updates for the next eight months, by far the longest gap in his posts since the blog started (prior to this he did never went one month without posting, and since April 2014 it had been at least a dozen every month, though many were “guest posts” and not Tracy’s actual writings.)
November 30 2016: Correspondence with WordPress support (they aren’t very interested in explaining to him why they’re dumping him):
December 5 2016 – Posts “MemoryHoleBlog Silenced By Bluehost and WordPress/Automattic” to his “Scoopfeed” backup site, in which he complains about his web host giving him the boot, and WordPress doing the same, though he notes that “MHB complied with each and every one of BlueHost’s numerous requests to censor content between September and November 2016.” Tracy copy-pastes emails between himself and the host, showing he was notified of the decision back on Nov 18th.
December 2016 podcast – one episode, and then no more until it resumes in April 2017
December 12 2016: Appears on Truth Jihad
https://www.unz.com/audio/kbarrett_james-tracy-how-questioning-the-sandy-hook-official-narrativ/
December 16 2016: Lawsuit vs FAU is partially dismissed, Tracy has to re-file, which he does
December 22 2016: Tracy claims that his home was burglarized, and his desktop computer was stolen:
Pg 164 vol 1: opposing counsel seems to imply that it was an “inside job” i.e. conspiracy, involving Tracy’s wife (and frequent professional collaborator):
Pg 121: A strange anomaly
2017
February 2017: Tracy’s backup site/aggregator “Scoopfeed” expires
https://web.archive.org/web/20170223075023/https://scoopfeed.net/
April-May 2017 podcasts – three more episodes drop, but then it appears episode 112 was the final episode of the series. Realpolitik is no longer listed on Truth Frequency Radio and the episodes are gone.(As of March 2022 Tracy lists “restarting Realpolitik” as one of the unlocks on his patreon, but he is nowhere near the number of patrons he asked for to make that happen.)
Tracy recalls this on page 106 of Vol 1 of deposition:
May 2 2017: Tracy’s first deposition in the FAU case. This is mentioned on page 69 of Volume 1 of the available deposition, but the May 2 2017 transcript does not appear to have been posted by Tracy’s legal defense website:
May 9 2017: Dr Alperin is deposed as part of Tracy’s lawsuit vs FAU. Tracy attends the deposition. Tracy doesn’t name any specific untruth she stated, but believes she was dishonest in replying “I don’t recall” or the like, answering some questions.
May 17 2017: The man Tracy seems to blame as the head of the conspiracy to fire him, John Kelly, is deposed for the lawsuit vs FAU. Tracy attends the deposition, and later (in his own deposition) says Kelly lied during his:
Q. Did you attend President Kelly’s deposition?
A. Yes.
Q. Did President Kelly say anything during his deposition that you thought was untruthful?
A. Yes.
Q. What?
A. He stated that he was unaware of the direct circumstances of my termination, and that he had delegated any and all of these proceedings to underlings, to lower-level administration. And he was not apprised of it, so he was not concerned with it, and was not concerned with the way it was presented in the media; which is contradicted by numerous news articles that he shared with family members concerning the ways in which the event was depicted.
Q. Is there any other evidence that you have that he was actually involved in the decision to terminate your employment?
A. Well, I would have to look at the documents again. Perhaps read his — or excuse me, read his deposition. I mean, I have no direct evidence, Mr. Curley, that you arrived this morning at this building in a spaceship. But there’s a strong likelihood that you didn’t.
June 2017: Tracy states in his deposition (vol 1 pg 108) that he applied for four academia positions during this time, and was turned out each time.
- Auburn University (Alabama) – Assistant Professor position in public relations (note Tracy’s loathing for PR in his DI op-eds; this must have been humiliating)
- Missouri State University – nine-month position in media studies/media theory
- Morrisville State University (New York) – nine-month generalist position in media studies (this would have put him a couple hours away from his hometown, Hornell)
- St. Michael’s College (Vermont) – nine-month generalist position in media studies
He goes on to explain (pg 141) that the nine-month positions were not tenure track, and would presumably end when the nine months expired, though he speculates there could have been renewal(s) at the end of the term.
July 26 2017: Tracy gives second deposition in case vs FAU. See PDF (072617-james-tracy-1)
Various excerpts from this deposition:
Pg 65: Comments on conflicts of being a blogger and an academic:
In a particularly insane exchange, Tracy expresses frustration that FAU did not investigate Sandy Hook before disciplining him for failing to report his investigation:
Pg 155: Complains about being “defamed”:
Re: the disclosure policy, vol 2 pg 189
(from Tracy deposition Vol 1 pg 70)
TRACY: I think that you take the view because part of your job is to –
CURLEY: Are you talking about me, or –
A. I’m talking about FAU’s legal representation.
Q. Okay. go ahead.
A. Could be you or Holly or Keith or what have you, you are taking the assumed view of the mass media that this event took place, Sandy Hook took place as they have reported it to a tee. And, I think that –
Q. Trust me. I never take that view that the mass media is always correct.
A. Right. I realize that, but your position, I think, in order to perhaps persuade a jury in court is to take that view. I recall in the first portion of this deposition, you held up the transcript or the book Nobody Died at Sandy Hook and all that, the theatrics. I don’t think that it’s the job of any sort of critical thinker or academic to certainly take the world [at] face value, and with that specific event, I think it was what I stated on my blog was much more complex, concerning the media coverage of that event. It was much more complex that what it was whittled down to be in the headline, or in a sound bite to prejudice the public, and the court of public opinion, prejudiced towards me.
I was saying that there’s much more to this event, that it should be much more carefully considered than just an episodic way. Not the only event in history, but it’s one of many — it was perhaps more [flagrant] in that you may have had the news media complicit in presenting an event as fact, which may have only partially taken place or not taken place at all, but at the very least, took place in a way that the media did not report accurately on.
Q. Yeah, I guess my only point is when you wrote those articles, you knew it would be controversial and not everybody would agree with you, right?
A. Well, this gets into the anticipation of audience of — your audience, and I don’t believe that I was — my blog addresses an audience that would be upset by those observations. I’m talking about the general readership, the commenters, the reading audience of my blog or of other sites that mirror the articles like Global Research. I don’t think they — it’s not to say that there’s just one sort of homogenous opinion. That’s not the case either, but I don’t think that in real terms of media, those types of observations were regarded or could be regarded as inflammatory.
And, I did not necessarily anticipate that those observations would go beyond that smaller steer of discussion and readership.
Q. Surprise. Things like that do happen, don’t they?
A. LEO: Object to form.
TRACY: On occasion.
More un-quoted sections, for reference:
- Back-and-forth re: what is reportable or not under policy, various hypotheticals: V1 pgs 77-86
- Describes his blog as inactive: pg 88
- Discussion of scoopfeed website, time obligations 89-94
- Donation button on MHB 94
- Tracy describes his specialization in conspiracy theories, what his scholarship is dedicated to; pg 132 vol 1
- Note that his description of covering the function of conspiracy theories is his academic focus; his focus on the specifics and validity of given theories, i.e. Sandy Hook, is what he sought to silo into his off-hours, unofficial, non-peer-reviewed activities. And that then gained so much attention and grew to such an obsession for him that it consumed his legit/academia persona. That’s basically the James Tracy arc. He valued his persona in alternative media over a real career as a scholar.
Nov 29 2017: Jury trial held for case against FAU in District Court
Coverage: https://www.upressonline.com/2017/12/commentary-james-tracy-probably-wont-get-his-job-back/
Palm Beach Post / Lannis Waters
December 7 2017 article covering the trial, from one of Tracy’s most loathed publications: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/state/2017/12/08/case-fired-fau-professor-may/6851658007/
Other notes from the trial include that the Court believes, over the course of observing the trial and Tracy’s testimony, that the jury would surely have come to the conclusion that James Tracy is an asshole:
Dec 11 2017: VERDICT: “Jury Rejects Suit by Sandy Hook Denier” https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/12/12/jury-rejects-lawsuit-sandy-hook-denier-who-was-fired-university
Tracy quickly posts a blog update, a guest post by “Vivian Lee” (credited as the “nom de plume of a tenured professor at an east coast university”) and linking to Jim Fetzer’s blog as well as GlobalResearch, “The Death of Academic Freedom”.