Ever since Gershkovich's arrest in March 2023, I have written extensively about the case.

The Journal and U.S. officials have responded to the verdict and sentence in the same way they have responded ever since Gershkovich's arrest. They deny that he is a spy and say that he was simply doing his job as a reporter when he was arrested. They also say that Russia is simply engaged in taking Gershkovich hostage so that Russia can trade him for Russians held prisoner by the West.

It might well be true that Gershkovich isn't a spy, but the problem is that if he is a spy, the Journal and U.S. officials would still deny it. In fact, if Gershkovich was working, say, for the CIA as part of its Operation Mockingbird program, there is a good chance that he would keep his CIA employment secret even from the Journal. That's the problem that comes with an official policy of lying: Even if Gershkovich isn't a spy, the CIA's denials that he is a spy are worthless.

The Journal and U.S. officials point out that Russian officials have never made any of their evidence against Gershkovich public. That shouldn't surprise anyone. That's the way Russian officials traditionally behave in cases involving "national security."

But what's strange to me is that the Journal and U.S. officials have never provided the public with Gershkovich's side of the story. Since the time of his arrest, Gershkovich has met with his attorneys and also with officials with the U.S. Embassy. Presumably, he has provided them with the circumstances surrounding his arrest.

In an article last Friday about the case, the Journal reported, "Evan was arrested in a restaurant while on a reporting trip for The Wall Street Journal." I don't recall ever reading about his being arrested in "a restaurant" before now. That quoted sentence links to a previous WSJ article, one that has no reference to the restaurant. Unless I'm mistaken, that's the first time the Journal has provided that detail.