bookmark_borderExhibit H

So, I want to break down the main evidence for my newly filed petition, EXHIBIT H, posted below (and in another post). It consists of 4 pages, two of which are mostly blacked out. I got this document from the government AFTER I filed my FOIA lawsuit (still in “Summary Judgement” phase as I write this).

After not hearing from Joe Gross (my NE attorney) for over a month (late November 2014 until January 2015), he emails me in early January 2015 that; 1) he’s hired experts to examine the NIT without my advice or consent & 2) they are on their way to the FBI Omaha office as he wrote that email to me. My knowledge of the NIT at this time was that something was wrong with it; because, my session ids were different when they should be the same and the browser reported that the previous page is the current page. Both anomalies were HUGE red flags.

For clarity, remember that I was arrested on April 9, 2013 based solely on the evidence in the table on my about page. I immediately determined that table had two HUGE red flags, strongly indicating that the evidence was fraudulent. Joe Gross ignored that FACT for about a year as he pursued a dismissal based on the government’s Rule 41(f) violation. That litigation lasted until October 2014 – when the NE court denied the Rule 41(f) dismissal motion.

So, on October 8, 2014 Gross informed Becker (the POS prosecutor) that he intended on challenging the NIT via a motion called Daubert. As a preliminary matter, Becker had inserted into the discovery process a “declaration” that the “NIT” was a flash application on September 4, 2014. I rejected that assertion immediately, based on solid technical grounds. Becker tried to reiterate his nonsense on November 10, 2014 – I forcefully rejected it and Becker embarked on egregious prosecutorial misconduct.

Basically, I told Gross that Becker was lying about the NIT and Gross made it clear the Daubert challenge would continue. From November 10, 2014 until January 2015, Becker convinced Gross (proven by FOIA docs) that the NIT was just a flash application. Becker also introduced irrelevant accusations that they had found contraband on my Linux computer. I knew that accusation was also false, but Becker convinced Gross that it might be true and Gross began to deliberately sabotage my defense strategy.

So, in January of 2015 Becker had a HUGE problem, if a defense expert exposed the fraudulent logging system his team inserted into TB2 (the website I was accused of visiting) all of his Operation Torpedo prosecutions could be dismissed (not just mine). Becker (I suspect) somehow got Gross to hire Podhradsky’s team, who I call the “Shills”. In the middle of January, the Shills produced a report that focussed on the Flash Application and how it worked on Pedoboard (NOT TB2). It’s important to understand that the logging system on Pedoboard was legitimate and native and the logging system on TB2 was totally fake / fraudulent.

After I get their ridiculously biased report, I’m furious that they (Gross & the Shills) have deliberately sabotaged my case ending strategy by accepting Beckers Flash App nonsense. So, I – with the help of Gross – petition the Court to have Gross and the Shills removed from my team. The Court grants the motion and assigns Joe Howard BUT things get MORE corrupt, not less.

Howard was appointed in February 2015, so at that time Becker doesn’t know if his Shills will remain on the case. So Becker flies to Buffalo to get a second indictment against me. This was done for the improper purpose of getting me to end the Daubert challenge to the NIT. I refused, BUT Howard also refused to fire the Shills and hire Mercuri. So on May 18, 2015 the Shills write this:

Hi Jeffrey,
I wanted to touch base about our investigation outcome for the Cottom case. Long story short, my team and I found that the NIT was repeatable and Cottom had further questions he wanted flushed out as part of the investigation. Specifically they are attached. Mr. Cottom wasn’t happy with our analysis however the judge wanted my team to continue on for this case . . . .

As you can see, the Shills improperly shared my confidential opinion and their preliminary findings with Becker’s team. That was highly inappropriate act of sabotage, but was nothing compared to what they did in June of 2015.

Remember that the shills have already determined how the Flash Application worked in January, so their June task was to determine the authenticity of the logging systems. (There were two, one on TB2 and one on the server the flash app connected to). As I have proven, the logging system on TB2 was FAKE. That means that the legitimacy of the other logging system didn’t matter at that point because both must be legitimate for the system’s veracity to survive.

So, in this context, you can understand that it was imperative (from Becker’s perspective) for the shills to ignore that TB2’s log was FAKE. Keep that in mind when you read the 4 FOIA pages below. (Read them from Page 4 to 1). On pages 3-4, you’ll see that the lead Shill “Ashley” is writing “Jeffery” again (redacted for some illegitimate reason) on June 8, 2015. She thanks Jeffery for hosting her team on Friday June 5, 2015 and has a few questions for the FBI. This email is highly improper because at this time, there are no proper adversarial questions for the Shills to be asking the FBI. Remember, they already know how the flash app works, they are just analyzing the logging systems. This work is technically complex (analyzing php and python code) but easy for them. They had all the code and the technical skill to “decode” and test it, thus there were no proper adversarial questions to ask the FBI at that time, so we can strongly suspect collusion.

Then, the email chain gets worse on page 2. You can see it is from Becker, to Howard and Podhradsky. The smoking gun sentence is “Also, can Dr. Podhradsky let us know what information her team found/did not find on the data her team reviewed” Worse, on page 1 there is confirmation of illegal collusion where the Shills (Specifically Matt Miller) answered the FBI questions (the blacked out parts on page 2 below Becker’s questions on that page) and ends with Becker satisfied that they accomplished their illegal task of legitimizing TB2’s fraudulent table.

Colluison

bookmark_borderThe Cookie Jar Analogy

As I note on my updated About Me page (link above) – I ask you to imagine that you were accused of stealing a cookie from a jar, but the only evidence was created by the police. That’s what happened to me and my FOIA litigation is proving it…

Here’s how it went down (according to newly discovered emails)

  1. The FBI seized two secret websites on the Internet (like hidden corners)
  2. Website 1 had real logs that tracked who visited – like a guestbook
  3. Website 2 was just a simple image board with no guestbook
  4. Instead of just watching Website 2, the FBI created a fake guestbook and populated it with falsified data
  5. Keith A. Becker then used the real guestbook from website 1 and the fake guestbook from website 2, to indict real people.
  6. I, Kirk Cottom, noticed – immediately – that the guestbook for Website 2 was fraudulent.
  7. Joe Gross, my first CJA hired experts behind my back that lied and said “Website 2 had a native guestbook, just like Website 1”
  8. I, Kirk Cottom, said “they’re lying” and convinced the judge to remove Joe Gross, so I could fire the corrupt experts.
  9. Becker then flew to my state to indict me again for the same crimes, a pathetic attempt to coerce me to drop my challenge to his fraudulent Website 2 evidence.
  10. Joe Howard refused to fire the corrupt experts and thus joined the team to railroad me (FOIA emails confirm this) for visiting Website 2
  11. After lying to the Court in 2015, the experts publish another report in 2016 exposing some of the lies they told in 2015. Basically saying “Yeah, the system on Website 2 was fake and anyone could trick it”.

That’s what happened in simple terms… still waiting for the Vaughn Index.

bookmark_borderAnalogy and Update

Perhaps an analogy will help people understand how ridiculous the case against me was.

Imagine that the FBI searches two houses next to each other. House A has a security system with cameras that put timestamps on the video. House B has no security system or cameras, but during the search of House B, the FBI installs a security system with cameras and then fabricates video with timestamps mimicking House A’s using artificial intelligence.

A Prosecutor then uses the fake video from House B to indict a masked John Doe in the video with robbing House B. Prosecutor claims masked John Doe is a specific individual who lives in the neighborhood. The accused asks his experts to examine House B’s security system and video. Experts produce a report that says House A’s security system and cameras work fine. Accused tells his attorney “But I’m accused of robbing House B, how is House A relevant?” Attorney responds “Experts say security system and cameras are reliable — case closed —you should take a plea deal”.

bookmark_borderWhy no-one is talking

So my FOIA has produced some gems that confirm Keith A. Becker knew the case against me was over on November 10, 2014 when he lied to a direct question in relation to the NIT. In response to our question (why are the session ids different) Keith lied because the truth is they were fabricated by LE code, then place in a LE database. What they told the court was only true for the other websites. They said they added a flash file to the website that downloaded with each page. As I explained before TB2 fake visitors table is inadmissible at trial. I’ll let ChatGPT explain why:

conspiracy

bookmark_borderIndisputable Evidence of Parallel Construction

As explained almost two years ago, Parallel Construction was used to prosecute me. “My experts” made numerous false claims about the NIT, which I’ve discussed many times before, but here are some new lies I’ve recently discovered thanks to recent documents I’ve received from the public defender’s office.

Ashley’s 2016 report (while much more accurate than her perjurious 2015 report) contains new deliberate lies. The one I’d like to discuss now is in Section 2.6 of her 2016 report, where she lies: “… the cornhusker log indicates that [the] DNS request was made via the proxy server and that data was not logged in this case.” Also remember that they refused to answer the simple question about the huge time gaps. My experts were PH.d holders or candidates at the time these reports were written and are today considered to be experts in their field, so the idea that they didn’t know that statement was a lie is preposterous, Because:

Flash could not make any connections (DNS or TCP/IP) through the proxy server! (In this case TOR). Worse, the time gaps are too long. How they claim the NIT worked “in my case” was that gallery.php was loaded in a hidden iframe located on a TB2’s html pages (in my case index.html and 1481.html). As I explained previously, that scheme intentionally scrubs the actual referring page from the fabricated “Visitors” table. Anyway, while gallery.php is making those bogus entries into the visitors table, it is also sending the browser javascript to load gallery.swf (the Flash App). The browser then loads Flash Player to execute gallery.swf. Flash Player ignores the browsers proxy settings and instead uses the OS networking stack (in my case Ubuntu 12.04LTS). Default DNS timeout settings were 10 seconds for each server or 20 seconds total, so that means the 39 & 63 seconds delays were impossible!

Even worse, the FBI forensic report for my Ubuntu machines clearly states that Adama’s home was unencrypted and its account was locked in the shadows file, while the other two accounts had encrypted home and unlocked shadow file entries. What does that mean? My Ubuntu Machine was Hacked or Tampered with… as the only way to lock an account is to be root (or have sudo) and type in a command in a terminal to lock the account.

That’s why no defense expert actually examined the machine, it would have been obvious that someone (FBI?) had tampered with the machine.

bookmark_borderI need more…

So I got this in the mail yesterday from Jeff Ciccone AFPD:

I am in receipt of your most recent letter dated September 16, 2025, inquiring about records relating to your prior federal case. Specifically, you asked whether I redacted code from an e-mail or if that code was already redacted. You also asked me to confirm that other e-mails were deleted by your prior attorney. I can tel you that I did not redact code or delete any emails. My previous letter to you contained all of the documents in the Federal Public Defender’s Office’s file that were responsive to your original request.

There are missing e-mails, the most crucial ones are from July 30, 2015 to December 2015. I mean it’s clear several emails are missing from the chain I posted. I think the times are messed up because the two lawyers were in different time zones. Steven’s in EST, and Joe is an hour behind him in CST. So I think the first email on the pages was actually received at the time indicated EST, but Joe sent it at 2:53pm. That’s the only way it makes sense for him to meet with the Judge and be back at 4pm CST, 5pm EST…

So the first e-mail in this chain is actually the last e-mail on the two pages. Joe sent it to Steven @ 2:08pm CST (which was 3:08 EST). Steven then replied to that message @ 2:11pm CST and then the last message in this chain occurred at 2:53 CST.

So, the subject of the first message (confirmed by the absence of RE:) is “Petition to Plead Guilty”. As I pointed out yesterday, Joe didn’t have permission to negotiate any plea deal and he alludes to this fact in the contents of this first missive. Joe also attached a pdf of the petition, that Steven deleted (see bottom of missive). Note that Joe is replying to an unasked question by begining with: I have not yet received the Plea Agreement. I suppose any time now, but in our district we must also file a Petition to Enter a Plea of Guilty. This trend of answering unasked questions will continue in this chain…

At 2:11 CST (or after having the petition for 3 minutes) Steven replies “It looks good … I’ll conference you in when he gets here”. My recollection of the events of that day contradict this narrative as I remember Steven e-mailed me around 4pm EST asking if I’d come to his office to discuss the case at 5pm EST, so he couldn’t have anticipated my 5pm arrival at 3:11pm EST… The last e-mail in this chain occurs 42 minutes later and we are clearly missing some communications between Steven & Joe; because, Joe answers an unasked question from Steven, “I have heard nothing…” and then asks Steven a question and he deleted his reply or answered Joe by phone…

One thing I noticed – during this ordeal – is that when lawyers are doing something illegal or unethical, they always do it verbally, either in person or on the phone…

bookmark_borderCertified Mail

So I sent the following missive by Certified Mail to Joseph Howard Esq. (on September 19, 2025)

Dear Joe,
On August 21, 2025 I sent you the attached missive regarding e-mails in my case file and you ignored that missive. On September 4, 2025 I filed the attached complaint with your counsel for discipline.
Since you failed to comply with my previous limited request, I now formally request a complete copy of my file (a digital production is preferred – mailed to me on a Memory Stick if it is over 25MB, as that is the limit of e-mail attachments on my server) regarding Case No. 8:13CR108 including: all emails, electronic communications, correspondence, notes, drafts, memoranda, and any other documents or records relating to my case, whether exchanged with me, third parties, opposing counsels (especially Keith A. Becker) or internally with you team.
This request is made pursuant to Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion for Lawyers No. 01-3, which clearly states that I’m entitled to the requested files. Therefore, please provide the requested files in digital format within 15 business days of the certified receipt of this letter.
Thank you for your prompt response to this certified letter.

And now I await a reply…

bookmark_borderGoogle AI Thinks Joe Howard is Guilty

Google’s AI says: An attorney who ignores a client’s demand to prepare for trial and instead negotiates a conditional plea agreement violates several American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The core violations stem from disregarding the client’s authority over the objectives of the representation, failing to communicate adequately, and failing to act with reasonable diligence.

Google’s AI also says: A defense attorney who allows a defense expert to lie in a report to the court violates several ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, primarily Rule 3.3: Candor Toward the Tribunal. This rule prohibits knowingly offering false evidence and requires lawyers to take reasonable remedial measures, including disclosure to the court, upon discovering false evidence. The attorney also violates the general prohibition against dishonesty and misrepresentation, as well as the obligation to represent their client competently and diligently without engaging in fraudulent conduct.

Joe Howard is in possession of e-mails (or should be) from July 30, 2015 that tell him in no uncertain terms that he was not to negotiate a plea deal and instead prepare for trial (As the previous Post’s PDF alludes too).

I’m in possession of documents that prove Joe knew, or should have known the shill’s 2015 report was full of lies…

Got an e-mail into Megan E. Lutz-Priefert, hopefully she will respond so I can get her thoughts on this “new” information (she was my §2255 lawyer back in 2018).

bookmark_borderWhoop, There it is!

During the day on July 30, 2015 Joe Howard was e-mailing me trying to persuade me to allow him to enter into plea negotiations with POS Becker. I denied all his requests in writing (via e-mails) ordering him to prepare for trial. As my previous post today explained, his disobeying my order violates many ABA rules. Thus, that’s likely why he won’t produce them.

It’s in that context that you can understand this brief selection of e-mails provided by the NY Public Defender’s office. While reading the second page of the pdf, keep in mind Howard knows he did not have permission to negotiate and obtain the “Petition to Plead Guilty” under discussion. Damning, No?

July-30-2015