S2 Bonus Episode: Expert Witness

In late June 2025, a 32-year-old homeless man named Haroon Abdelmalik Yener was acquitted on all six federal terrorism charges he faced—charges that carried life without parole. The case, which had been covered by every major newspaper when he was arrested in November 2024, vanished from public view the moment he was found not guilty. John Kiriakou, the former CIA officer who testified as an expert witness for the defense, tells the story of how the FBI manufactured a terrorist plot from scratch, targeting a mentally ill, isolated man who had no resources, no connections, and no real intention to commit violence.

The Setup: A Homeless Man with Childlike Drawings

Haroon Yener had moved from Oklahoma City to Coral Springs, Florida, hoping to start over. Instead, he ended up unhoused, living in an alley behind a restaurant. He managed to rent a small storage unit for his belongings, which included a baseball bat with the words "Vi will be done" written on it in Sharpie, and some childlike drawings of guns, bombs, rockets, and missiles. Yener suffered from mental illness and could not afford a lock for his unit.