Fact check
Is it true: Inslaw / PROMIS software theft + alleged international surveillance backdoor (1981-95)?
Partly — it's more complicated than the claim suggests.
Two federal judges found the DOJ took Inslaw's PROMIS software "by trickery, fraud, and deceit" (later overturned on jurisdictional grounds, not merits). The 1992 Brooks Report found "strong evidence" of misappropriation. The conspiracy extension — backdoored PROMIS sold to foreign intelligence services via Robert Maxwell and Earl Brian — has not been established through evidence that survived judicial scrutiny. Danny Casolaro's 1991 death was ruled a suicide; the circumstances remain disputed.
The claim
Inslaw Inc, owned by William and Nancy Hamilton, licensed its PROMIS case-management software to the US Department of Justice in 1982. The DOJ stopped payments, forcing Inslaw into bankruptcy in 1985.
Key evidence
Bankruptcy Judge Bason: DOJ took software "by trickery, fraud, and deceit"
PROMIS backdoor and foreign-sale claim: no documentary evidence established
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