Rebuttal of Defamatory Remarks by Polygraph Examiner Dr. Louis I. Rovner, Ph.D.

Polygraph examiner Dr. Louis Irving Rovner, Ph.D. of Woodland Hills, California, made false and defamatory statements about me during the course of a polygraph examination that he videorecorded for evidentiary purposes on 9 March 2007 and that was played in open court in the case of Ohio v. Sharma. In an attempt to discredit AntiPolygraph.org, Rovner told examinee Sahil Sharma (at 06:22 in the video):

Rovner: AntiPolygraph.org is run by a guy named George Maschke, and he lives in The Netherlands, and he lives there for a good reason, uh, he applied -- he was living in L.A. actually and he applied for a job with the FBI, and he failed his pre-employment polygraph test with the FBI, and he specifically failed the counterintelligence section.

Sharma: Okay.

Rovner: Uh, they wouldn't give him a job. And of course, now, he's sitting there saying "Uh-oh, guess what part of this test I failed?" All of the sudden the next thing you know he's in The Netherlands who doesn't have an extradition agreement with us. And he's... Guess who his business partner is? Iran!

Sharma: Wow!

Rovner: Well, so he's made it his life's work now to try to defeat or try to weaken as much as he can the FBI and the CIA and the NSA, and we can all speculate as to why, but I think it's fairly obvious, it's not just he feels bad.

Sharma (nodding in agreement): Yeah.

Rovner's outrageous and dishonest attempt to characterize me as a disloyal subversive who fled the United States to avoid criminal prosecution is fraught with error:

1. While I did fail the counterintelligence portion of my 1995 FBI pre-employment polygraph examination (despite answering all questions truthfully), no investigation was conducted as a result, and I was never charged with any crime (nor did I commit any!);
    
2. The Netherlands does in fact have an extradition treaty with the United States (TIAS 10733);
    
3. I came to work in The Netherlands two years after my FBI polygraph (not "all of a sudden");
    
4. I am not a "business partner" of Iran (and never have been);
    
5. Far from attempting to weaken the United States Government, AntiPolygraph.org strives to make it more just and efficient, working to expose and end waste, fraud, and abuse associated with the use of lie detectors, and to end misplaced governmental reliance on the pseudoscience of polygraphy. I'm an honorably-discharged 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army and Army Reserve. For background information on the experience that led me to co-found AntiPolygraph.org, see my public statement, "Too Hot of a Potato: A Citizen-Soldier's Encounter with the Polygraph."

I have also spoken about my polygraph experience on CBS 60 Minutes II as part of a story on polygraph screening. The interview was conducted in New York City. Somehow, I was not arrested upon arrival at JFK airport.

Rovner went on to falsely accuse me of having sent him a computer virus (a federal crime!) (at 08:43):

Rovner: Maschke actually sent me one, sent me an e-mail that brought down my computer -- a virus -- yeah, lovely person.

This is completely untrue. I have never sent a virus or any other form of malware to anyone. I have sent Dr. Rovner only one e-mail message ever (challenging him to publicly defend dubious claims he made in a press release). That message -- to which Rovner never replied -- contained no virus or malware of any kind. My challenge to him is also available on the AntiPolygraph.org message board here.

Lou Rovner's willingness to make false and defamatory remarks in a polygraph examination recorded for presentation as evidence before a court of law speaks to both his character and credibility. I am prepared to provide sworn testimony regarding these matters before any court of law or equity.

For related commentary, see my Critique of Louis I. Rovner's Polygraph Examination and Testimony in Ohio v. Sharma.