I sometimes get asked what drove me to sacrifice so intensely for our country. My answer may appear to be cliché, but it is honest and real: “Because I love this country and what it stands for. It never felt like a sacrifice for me; it felt like an honor.”
What exactly do I love so much about our country? A lot, but most especially the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, press and assembly from government interference.
I nearly lost my life operating as a Navy SEAL back in the late 1990s. I traveled the world disrupting terrorists and terrorist plots which, as you can imagine, did not typically land me in five-star hotels. I saw extensive combat in Afghanistan attached to the 75th Ranger Regiment as an FBI special agent. I investigated corrupt public figures and combated violent street gangs right here on our streets in America.
And I investigated Russian organized crime. Violence, extortion, the trafficking and forced prostitution of young women who thought they were coming to America for real opportunity, and the general pursuit of the all-mighty dollar were but a few hallmarks to this reprehensible group.
In my investigations into Russian organized crime, I also got a firsthand look into the money and power that pulled the strings back in Russia. Both the money and power were, and still are, substantial.
Which brings me to The Aspen Times and the lawsuit based on censorship of a series of stories around Russian billionaire Vladislav Doronin and his purchase of 1 acre of land and associated land-use entitlements for a major redevelopment near the base of Aspen Mountain’s Lift 1A.
It appears the stories simply laid out the facts of the purchase and who was buying. It also appears Vladislav Doronin objected to being referred to as an “oligarch.” Now, I have no idea if Doronin is an oligarch. I have no idea if he acquired his wealth through private acquisition of state assets in Russia and maintains close links to the highest government circles in Russia. It’s not particularly relevant to the point at hand. But it’s also fairly well established that this is one of two ways to accumulate billions of dollars in Russia.
I can tell you this, though, from my experience in investigations: While sometimes things are not exactly as they appear, they are very often exactly as they appear. This is the point at hand.
Regardless of how Doronin acquired his wealth, it appears obvious to me that he used that wealth and subsequent power that wealth brings to intimidate The Aspen Times into suppressing and outright censoring the story related to the land purchase in question.
If things are exactly as they appear and this is what he did, it’s his right to do that. He wouldn’t be the first person of means to use their wealth to cajole, influence, manipulate or outright intimidate to get their way, and he certainly won’t be the last.
I’ve seen the wealthy use their wealth in this manner professionally and personally. I think it’s disgusting, but it’s a fact of life. The real tragedy, though, is that it leaves the targets of this reprehensible behavior in a seemingly no-win situation. They simply don’t have the means or time to fight back.
And the bullies know this, so they don’t relent until they get their way. It takes an unusual and unique kind of courage for the “little guy” to fight back against money and power. But it is a courage that is found here in America. We fight. We fight because we can’t stand injustice.
So, here I say to the little guy embroiled in this saga, “Fight!” Fight for the inherent American value of a free and unencumbered press. Fight for the right to report the truth, no matter where it brings you. Fight to bring truth to power.
You may lose, but you can live with that. What you may not be able to live with is not standing up for the most basic of American culture, the First Amendment. It is what I decided to sacrifice for. Trust me, Vladislav Doronin will be just fine.
Errol Doebler is a former Navy SEAL platoon commander, FBI terrorism investigator, and founder of his leadership consulting company, Ice Cold Leader. He can be contacted at Hello@Icecoldleader.com.
Check out Errol’s new book, Ice Cold Leader: Leading From the Inside Out available now!
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