Top NASA Official Jailed Under Suspicious Circumstances

While attempting to verify something else, I came across this article from June 2015. I think you'll agree that it appears immediately suspicious. There's several things that don't add up. Below are excerpts from the article:

"70-year-old NASA worker who was fired last month is in jail after admitting he amassed child pornography." ... "He was in a mental hospital, where he was admitted because he was suicidal." ... "He was fired May 29 from his job at Kennedy Space Center...as well as Science Applications International Corp., after they accused him of several security violations." ... "Federal agents asked a judge to sign a search warrant, allowing them to search several of Lawson's electronic storage devices for information related to NASA and his work, but when they began looking, they spotted a photo of three nude boys, according to his warrant." "(He admitted) that he had downloaded 600 to 800 child porn images." "A NASA spokesman was not immediately available to explain the security violations that led to Lawson's dismissal."
www.orlandosentinel.com...

Donald Lawson was NASA's Communication Security Administrator (COMSEC Admin) for the past thirty years. Since the Reagan Administration, Lawson has been the man in charge of controlling information coming out've NASA. Whatever the government deemed too sensitive for public dissemination, Lawson was tasked with overseeing the effort to keep those NASA secrets a secret. The policy of "Never A Straight Answer" was the brainchild of this man. In all history, never has someone fallen from so high in the space secrecy apparatus. [ Information here: www.linkedin.com... ]

They say he was terminated for "several security violations," but NASA wasn't inclined to elaborate. What suspected violations prompted his subordinates to investigate their boss, the information czar of NASA? Which specific policies, which he himself may have written, did he violate? They say a warrant was signed for the purpose searching for evidence of these violations on "electronic storage devices," and that they found child pornography. I'm no attorney, but I'm confident that anything discovered during a search which wasn't specifically listed in the warrant, is inadmissible in court. If a warrant is served for the written purpose of searching for "security violations," then any discovery of child pornography can't be prosecuted, as it's not relevant to the court-ordered scope of the investigation. Did the warrant specify child pornography and if so why? Why does the article state the scope of the search was "information related to NASA and his work" if child pornography is what the investigation appears to have concentrated on? It seems clear that he was charged for the pornography, given that his alleged pornography was so thoroughly investigated. [Review of another article confirms that he was charged for possession of child pornography]

The report claims that Lawson admitted to downloading "600 to 800" illegal images. Who estimates such a number? I could imagine Lawson saying he downloaded "hundreds," or "so many that he lost track," but not "600 to 800." That's a very strange estimate. I'm sure that I've done several things "600 to 800" times, but I have no idea what they are. It's not human nature to maintain a tally in ones mind of how many times they've done a thing, especially when that number is in the hundreds. I think it's unlikely that Lawson would say this. In fact, I think it's unlikely that NASA's information czar would say anything at all. After thirty years of secrecy and administering over NASA's full spectrum dominance of information, certainly he would admit nothing, and would allow his attorneys to do the talking for him. Why would a man spend thirty years admitting to nothing and ensuring that nobody else admitted to anything, only to admit to a thing where doing so could mean a prison sentence? It might even mean a life sentence, given his advanced age.

It sounds very much as though Lawson fell out've the good graces of someone very high in the space secrecy hierarchy. Consider the content of the article, even. It discusses Lawson being committed to a psychological institution, it says that he's suicidal, and it says he was found in possession of child pornography. In just this one instance, all three of the primary classical arguments of counter-intelligence slander are being utilized. He's crazy, so you can't trust what he says. He's suicidal, so don't be shocked if he kills himself soon. He's got child pornography, so he's basically a child molester. He can't be trusted, he'll kill himself, he's a child molester. COINTEL's calling-card is laid out plain for all to see.

I haven't had any luck with finding any updates on Lawson. Whether or not his case has gone to trial, whether or not he was found guilty, or even whether or not he's even still alive alludes me. What I do know is that it seem incontrovertible that Lawson is being burned at stake. It seems clear that he isn't an enemy of the state because he has child pornography, but that he has child pornography because he's an enemy of the state. So you've gotta ask yourself, what's the real story? What information did Lawson possess that the establishment was unhappy about? More importantly: what was Lawson planning on doing with it?

Whatever it was, it wasn't small. If it involved NASA's COMSEC Admin of thirty years, the man who knew all and controlled all, then whatever inspired these circumstances was earth-shattering. Lawson was seventy years old. It could be that like so many before him, as retirement and rapidly approaching mortality reared it's head, he was thinking about disclosure. He was thinking about telling the world what he knew, and the information on his electronic storage devices was the evidence he needed to back up his claims. So don't trust him he's crazy and don't be surprised if he's already killed himself, but don't worry if he did because he's just a child molester anyway.

Potential whistle blower probably.....maybe even attempted whistleblower.....
This is exactly the kinds of info I come here for....
The system will go through this procedure when it wishes to discredit and destroy a persons credibility and reputation....after which they can persecute them at will...
I believe its done all the time when nessesary to shut people up from revealing truth....
The object is to control the paradigm by controlling information....
If you are really sincere about it....one could try to ersonally locate this guy and communicate directly with him.
The thing is,....you are then setting your ownself up for similar treatment should you become a pain on the butt......
Every proud nail gets hammered down.....

However,....
there are avenues....
Where did arrest take place?
Start with court documents.....
Where incarcerated?
Direct communication...?
Search of NASA historical documents for a clue?
Follow any history on the guy....perhaps? ie contact contemporary fellows and cronies...?
Go through a Server in Timbuktu..............!
one final note....youll have to be quicker than a fast acting "Cancer".......now hes in custody...

I think that your hypothesis that my government is involved in illegal activity, to be preposterous! This guy must have been a Kulak, a wrecker and counter-revolutionary swine. Watch your counter-revolutionary thoughts Tovarich, there are far off cold places where conditions are spartan and the labor, never-ending.

a reply to: Navarro

There are several exceptions to the warrant requirement; plain-view and inevitable discovery being two of them.

a reply to: Navarro

"He was fired May 29 from his job at Kennedy Space Center…as well as Science Applications International Corp., after they accused him of several security violations." …

Do we know why he was fired, initially?

(portion redacted)

Edit: Found this rabbit hole…

Article from last year...

Thanks for the info..

I hear what your saying but before we glorify him as being some sort of martyr. . We should not forget the facts at hand.
He is alleged to have been caught with child porn and although he worked at nasa for 30 years.. people can lose their mind at any time especially as they approach old age..

Having said that I'll be watching to see if anyone here digs up some info..

S and f

Planting of child porn is a old favourite of certain 3 letter agency's both US and others
if they with to destroy a targets credibility where a straight assassination would raise to many
questions.

it does seem odd that a man with his career would have taken the risk of getting involved
in storing child porn even if he was that way inclined (which i doubt)
I think he upset the wrong person or group in some way either because of what he knew
or what he was about to do with some of that information.

either way the system is about to rip him apart.

originally posted by: Navarro
While attempting to verify something else, I came across this article from June 2015. I think you'll agree that it appears immediately suspicious. There's several things that don't add up. Below are excerpts from the article:

"70-year-old NASA worker who was fired last month is in jail after admitting he amassed child pornography." ... "He was in a mental hospital, where he was admitted because he was suicidal." ... "He was fired May 29 from his job at Kennedy Space Center...as well as Science Applications International Corp., after they accused him of several security violations." ... "Federal agents asked a judge to sign a search warrant, allowing them to search several of Lawson's electronic storage devices for information related to NASA and his work, but when they began looking, they spotted a photo of three nude boys, according to his warrant." "(He admitted) that he had downloaded 600 to 800 child porn images." "A NASA spokesman was not immediately available to explain the security violations that led to Lawson's dismissal."
www.orlandosentinel.com...

Really not as mysterious as you suggest. It would certainly be interesting to know the original reason for the investigation - mostly out of rubbernecker's curiosity.

Did it occur to you that the "security violations" could easily have been accessing child pornography from a work computer? It happens far more often than you'd think; it's even done by people you really think should be smarter and know better. If this was done from a NASA work computer then yes, it would become information related to NASA and his work. It might well be something completely different, but it doesn't have to be.

"Plain view" means that evidence in (funnily enough) "plain view" of the officer doesn't require a search warrant to be admissible. Coming across child porn images while searching for other information? I'd go with "plain view" applying. Failing that, finding those images would still be grounds for getting a further search warrant anyway. Really not an issue here.

"600-800 images" is also not really suspicious. I encounter this quite often, especially when talking to people about their drug usage. You start from a vague answer of "lots" and question them down to a range. I don't accept the first answer and write in my notes "CL stated that he 'smokes an ass-load of dope''", I dig further and eventually write "CL stated that he smokes approx. 1-3 joints a day and spends approximately £50 a week on cannabis resin".

Sometimes, especially if you're caught bang to rights, coming clean is about the only thing you can realistically do to mitigate the problem. Bluffing your way through a sticky subject as spokesman for a major agency is not the same as bluffing your way through a police interview when they're laying all the evidence out in front of you.

I am certainly not surprised that someone who is about to get hung out to dry for child porn admitted to "feeling suicidal". I'd be more surprised if he wasn't. It's a long hard fall from a cushy lifestyle at the top of the tree to the bottom of a jail cell, especially at that age.

I see the unfortunate demise of someone who spent a good portion of their life working for their agency, but I don't feel sorry for him if the allegations are true. I certainly don't see enough to be concerned about a conspiracy.

Edited because: forget to strip out a lot of the OP that wasn't that useful to repeat!

originally posted by: bandersnatch
Potential whistle blower probably.....maybe even attempted whistleblower.....
This is exactly the kinds of info I come here for....
The system will go through this procedure when it wishes to discredit and destroy a persons credibility and reputation....after which they can persecute them at will...
I believe its done all the time when nessesary to shut people up from revealing truth....
The object is to control the paradigm by controlling information....
If you are really sincere about it....one could try to ersonally locate this guy and communicate directly with him.
The thing is,....you are then setting your ownself up for similar treatment should you become a pain on the butt......
Every proud nail gets hammered down.....

However,....
there are avenues....
Where did arrest take place?
Start with court documents.....
Where incarcerated?
Direct communication...?
Search of NASA historical documents for a clue?
Follow any history on the guy....perhaps? ie contact contemporary fellows and cronies...?
Go through a Server in Timbuktu..............!
one final note....youll have to be quicker than a fast acting "Cancer".......now hes in custody...

I investigated the possibility of locating Lawson. Not only am I simply curious about his current status and whereabouts, but the potential information that could be gained from contact with him is literally "out of this world" in significance.

I searched for sex offenders within his state of residence but he's not listed.
Florida Sex Offender Registry
I searched the national sex offender registry, but he's not there either.
National Sex Offender Registry
I attempted to search the inmate list within the jurisdiction in which he was initially jailed, but there doesn't appear to be a free means of doing this.
Seminole County Jail
I searched the Florida DOC inmate listing, but he's not there.
Florida DOC
I searched for Federal BOP inmate listing, and I found this:

DONALD E LAWSON
Register Number: 62583-018
Age: 71
Race: White
Sex: Male
NOT IN BOP CUSTODY
Release Date: UNKNOWN
Federal BOP

If he's not in BOP custody, then where is he? I thought that he might still be housed at Seminole County Jail, so I turned my attention back to that. I found a website hosted by the Seminole County Sheriffs Office, which lists current inmates. When I performed a search there, this is what came back:

A current inmate with the information you entered could not be found. This system only has information on inmates currently housed in the Seminole County Jail. You may also try your search using a different identifier.
Seminole County Sheriff's Office

So he was there, but is no longer. If the county of jurisdiction doesn't have him, the state doesn't have him, and the feds don't have him, then we arrive at the same question as before: where is he? Who's custody is he in, if anyones? The answer isn't one that you'd like, but it is an obvious one: he's somewhere that he can't be reached. If you could find him within any of the systems I've searched, then you could contact him. If you could contact him, then you'd be in a position to learn a great deal of information, and the whole point of this seemed to be to prevent information from leaking out.

So, to confirm that he was purposely disappeared, I searched the Seminole County Court Dockets. I found two listings for Donald Lawson, but neither was the Donald Lawson we're interested in.
Seminole County Court Dockets
I wasn't immediately able to ascertain how the public can locate federal criminal court records, if any such means exists. The nearest means I saw was the federal PACER service, which restricts access to government officials only:

NOTICE: This is a restricted government web site for official PACER use only. Unauthorized entry is prohibited and subject to prosecution under Title 18 of the U.S. Code. All activities and access attempts are logged.
US Courts / PACER

I think it's safe to say that where ever Lawson is, he isn't meant to be found, because his story isn't meant to be told. I question whether or not even BOP knows his whereabouts, let alone whether or not I'd ever be able to locate him. I don't imagine that Lawson's enemies are the type of people to leave disclosure as a possibility here. I believe he's gone, and nobody outside of the intelligence circle will ever hear from him again. Assuming, of course, he's even still alive. That isn't however to say that you can't find something, and a lot of it. What's the status of his house for instance? What might you get a Seminole Deputy Sheriff to tell you, or agents of the court there? What might the right BOP person have to say?

Still, I don't think you'd be able to answer any questions other than simple confirmation that he was disappeared, which already appears probable at the present time. Any efforts leading to a significant discovery here may be a lifetimes work, and certainly wouldn't yield a conversation with Lawson. Even if it did, who knows if he'd talk at this point. Looks like a practical dead-end to me. The only exception might be that if your actual goal was to get talked to by a party that's interested in your interest. It would take a lot of effort to achieve that point though, and I think you'd be more likely to find yourself in grave than as the newest member of the breakaway civilization.

Really really interesting great thread S&F...I'm also considering the easy explanation of him downloading child porn on a work computer, 600-800 files, that sounds pretty crazy so the mental health part checks in. Lots of people of high stature have secret dark side to them, especially those caught with child porn. Creeps me out just typing it.

However I do enjoy the conspiracy that he was about to make disclosure in his old age...and got remorsefully smeared. Why couldn't he make disclosure before he got caught? What is his past like? What else do we know?

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Navarro

"He was fired May 29 from his job at Kennedy Space Center…as well as Science Applications International Corp., after they accused him of several security violations." …

Do we know why he was fired, initially?

(portion redacted)

Edit: Found this rabbit hole…

Article from last year...

That's interesting. I never came across that article, though there are many. Who would've thought that NASA's COMSEC chief would be using NASA equipment to fuel his child pornography urges, let alone that he'd willingly hand those devices over, practically begging for a prison sentence. He couldn't use personal devices to quell his pedophilic disposition? He couldn't refrain from bringing said devices to work? He couldn't wipe the drive the moment he believed himself discovered? He couldn't then remove the drive and/or destroy that drive and replace it with a new drive before handing it over to be scrutinized? He thought encryption and passwords would protect him from an investigation as that?

For being a thirty year expert in information security, he sure doesn't seem very "expert" at it. Let alone does this seem like the action of NASA's leading expert. Besides which, I don't imagine that a man that high in the food chain would ever be investigated in this manner, and if he was, I don't believe that investigation would be allowed to come to charges, let alone any form of publicity. Unless, of course, his superiors and high level colleagues felt it was time to put him out to pasture. In that case, we arrive at motivation for framing him.

originally posted by: game over man
Really really interesting great thread S&F...I'm also considering the easy explanation of him downloading child porn on a work computer, 600-800 files, that sounds pretty crazy so the mental health part checks in. Lots of people of high stature have secret dark side to them, especially those caught with child porn. Creeps me out just typing it.

However I do enjoy the conspiracy that he was about to make disclosure in his old age...and got remorsefully smeared. Why couldn't he make disclosure before he got caught? What is his past like? What else do we know?

There's been a lot of allegations about rape, homosexual sex, sex slaves, child molestation and so forth among the elite over the years. I've never thought that elites just tend to enjoy these things more so than the general public. If I were to guess, they engage in these sorts of activities together in order that none can betray the others. Should you, then your former friends and colleagues have exactly the ammunition they need to destroy you: evidence of your sexual depravity and criminal misconduct. Seems to me that Lawson's opponents cashed in on their insurance package.

It continues to seem unlikely that he'd admit to anything either. The only two scenarios for that which I can come up with is this: He never admitted to anything, and the claims that he did are a fabrication. Or, he made a deal. If he were to defame himself in this way, then he would be planted on ranch somewhere out've the way where he could live out the rest of his short life in peace. So long as nobody heard from him again, he wouldn't have to worry about hearing from them again. You'd think they'd just kill him after he defamed himself, but they seemed to let Hitler and Bin Laden be. Could be that they're known to be trust worthy when offering deals as that. Then again, maybe not. Loose ends are always risky, and high maintenance at that. Or at least higher maintenance than a corpse.

I can understand why you're considering the simplest explanation: he really did it, and that's all there is to it. However, the story shouldn't have gone the way it did if that was the case. He shouldn't have said "600-800" where the FBI then returned the result that they had in fact located 600 such files. He shouldn't have allowed himself to be caught, as I went over above. He shouldn't have so thoroughly disappeared afterward, as I discussed in a previous post in this thread. I don't think the simplest explanation is adequate. I think a more complex explanation is necessary for this complex situation involving a complex man.

,a reply to: Navarro

This thread has some real potential. Good luck as it progresses.

originally posted by: Natenato
a reply to: Navarro

There are several exceptions to the warrant requirement; plain-view and inevitable discovery being two of them.

As I said earlier, I'm not an attorney. However, I know that Plain View is an exception related to warrantless searches. I'm not as clear on the implications of Inevitable Discovery, but it also appears to relate to warrantless searches. However, the article states this discovery was the fruit of the execution of the search warrant.

Under the Fourth Amendment, searches must be reasonable and specific. This means that a search warrant must specify the object to search for and the place to search for it.
Wikipedia

Another article that ATS member intrptr linked to earlier stated that the warrant was executed as part of a "child porn investigation." If that's true, then the discovery would certainly be admissible. If that wasn't the stated scope of the warrant, then I continue to believe the discovery would be inadmissible. Given that article claims this was within the scope of the warrant, the subject of legality seems irrelevant at this point.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Navarro

"He was fired May 29 from his job at Kennedy Space Center…as well as Science Applications International Corp., after they accused him of several security violations." …

I'm having a hard time reconciling the above with this from the OP:

Donald Lawson was NASA's Communication Security Administrator (COMSEC Admin) for the past thirty years. Since the Reagan Administration, Lawson has been the man in charge of controlling information coming out've NASA.

Is the top security guy at NASA for 30 years actually work for a contractor? Are we sure these are the same two guys? Just asking.

a reply to: Navarro

They sure are laying it on thick aren't they.
He suddenly seems to be displaying all the usual "symptoms" for a highly placed individual.

About that 600 to 800 images.
My phone tells me exactly how many downloads I've done. Surely, even on multiple devices, it wouldnt be too difficult to identify their origins and find a precise figure?
I know its a silly, minor point but why give a figure at all? Why not just say "hundreds" ?

He could've lead a secret life for all these years and no one suspected him precisely because of who he was.
Dumb using work equipment. Got complacent.

Or

Somebody really, really, really wants him out of the way.

I'm going to keep an eye on this thread. Interesting.

a reply to: Navarro


I don't understand what you're trying to convey but so long as we both know the discovery was legal were good.

What they do now is label and prosecute someone falsely with child porn. Pretty much once that happens you are no longer viable to the public.

A news source from Orlando states that the FBI believed he had hidden video camera to photograph young boys. He appears to have looked after young boys for a youth outreach programme.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Lawson admitted to downloading "600 to 800 images and videos" and federal agents believe Lawson set up a hidden camera at his house and a hotel room to record young boys naked.

Investigators said the hidden cameras recorded "nude images of the young boys that were in his care, including at least one young boy that Lawson interacted with as a volunteer for a well-known youth outreach program."

A LinkedIn page under his name said Lawson has been a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters since 1992. It reads, "Long term volunteer. Not currently registered with the agency, however, I continue to mentor 'Little Brothers' I was matched with, now in their early 20s."

There is a web extra link to read the criminal complaint but it 404s.

clickorlando

Not sure if this reads as FBI believes he had several cameras or he in fact had several cameras and the FBI believes he used them to film young naked boys.

The above report suggests he was not only a watcher but also a predator.

This stinks. My bs-ometer is pinging away.

S&F.

Seems like a job they probably don't just let you walk away from when it comes time to retire... Imagine everything he knows.. Best post I've read in a while. This is why I come to ATS