Raven 23: How the Department of Justice Betrayed American Heroes

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Based on the popular podcast, a journalists shocking story of how the U.S. government framed four decorated veterans working as Blackwater military contractors in Iraq with phony war crimes to placate foreign autocrats.

In Raven 23, journalist Gina Keating reveals how four American citizens working as personal security contractors for U.S. diplomats in the world's most dangerous city were convicted of war crimes in a federal trial that made international headlines -- and was plagued with prosecutor and judicial misconduct. The men spent six years in federal prison while Keating, the men's families, and a dedicated and growing group of supporters -- including U.S. Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth -- petitioned President Donald J. Trump for their release and obtained four full and unconditional pardons in 2020.

The events in Nisur Square constituted one of the most tragic events of the Iraq war. According to the official story, in 2007, Blackwater employees fired unprovoked into a crowd of civilians, killing fourteen civilians and wounding seventeen others. Blackwater guards claimed their convoy was ambushed; the Iraqi government disputed this explanation. Initial investigations by U.S. State Department and U.S. Army personnel cleared the Raven 23 team of wrongdoing, but the U.S. government bowed to Iraqi pressure to try the men for civilian deaths. Thus began a saga that cost the government 13 years, three trials, and tens of millions in taxpayer dollars to sell the lie that Dustin Heard, Paul Slough, Nick Slatten, and Evan Liberty were monsters who deserved to go to prison for life.

Journalist Gina Keatings account reveals the official story was a lie. While the four former Blackwater employees were convicted in 2014 and sentenced to prison, her investigation showed that the men had been attacked by insurgents and engaged the enemy according to the rules of war. According to Keating, the Department of Justice cooked up a flimsy story that condemned Americans to placate foreign leaders.

At the beginning of Keatings investigation into the Raven 23 case, she thought she knew what the world was like. The reality of the corruption, abuse of power, and malice she saw in Americas institutions turned her world upside down.

Reviews

"What happened to the men of Raven 23 and how the US government betrayed them is one of the most incredible political stories of our time. The truth is so outrageous and incredible, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't investigated it myself. The damage cannot be undone, but shining a light on the deception can help set the record straight and clear the American conscience." -- Sharyl Attkisson

"Our freedom depends on men being willing to go and defend it in dangerous situations. What happens when we decide to stop defending those men Raven 23 is an alarming account of how politicians turned a blind eye to the truth and instead pushed a convenient narrative, throwing American heroes under the bus. You cannot run efficient military or intelligence operations with political optics as your main goal." -- Ric Prado

"An alarming and hard-hitting expos of bureaucratic malice, Raven 23 reveals how Washington, DC, betrayed men on the front lines. A reminder to always look beyond the headlines and seek out the facts. From the battlefield to the courtroom, Raven 23 is a saga full of drama, twists, and betrayal--a must-read!" -- Shawn Ryan

Author Bio

Gina Keating is a longtime investigative journalist, author, and filmmaker. Her most recent projects include the book Netflixed: The Epic Battle for America's Eyeballs, the podcast series Business Wars: Netflix vs. Blockbuster vs. HBO and Raven 23: Presumption of Guilt, and the 2019 award-winning documentary Netflix vs the World. Keating covered finance, politics, and law for three decades at the international wire services United Press International, Associated Press, and Thomson Reuters, and for newspapers in Los Angeles and Austin. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, DuJour, Texas Monthly, Southern Living, Variety, and Forbes magazines, among many other major outlets.