Unofficial Investigation Findings on Allegations against Vac Mercer
18 January 2018
Introduction
Over the past week, I have been undertaking an informal investigation on the claims against Prime Minister Vac Mercer that he allegedly commanded three of his troops to impersonate other NS players as Deputy Commandant and the lead of a particular raid, then allegedly lied about his knowledge of the said troops to the NSGP community when it was brought to his attention. My investigation has led me to question almost all involved in the operation that night, and His Majesty the King and Commandant Owen Bonaparte have been cooperative granting me the clearance to the proper military channels to obtain evidence.
The reason why this investigation had been undertaken after so long is because it was brought to my attention from the announcement made by the Prime Minister of New United Kingdom that they would minimize their relations with the Kingdom of Great Britain because of the lack of an official inquiry or statement regarding the issue, despite several attempts made by other members of the NSGP community requesting remarks in our NSGP Embassy. As Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the EFAAC, I was concerned that the fallout from the controversy would continue to affect our relations with like-minded British regions and our relations with other regions that we have been working diligently to recover since the shameful and inexcusable actions of our former King George VI. While some consequences were given at the time of the operation, it was clear that the NSGP community was dissatisfied from what we had done so far and it was clear that we did not yet have all the answers. I reached out to Prime Minister Charles Watson-Turing-Donald of NUK to understand the root of the allegations, and launched an informal investigation myself to avoid potential conflicts of interest or obstruction.
My original purpose of this investigation was to find the answers we needed to hopefully clarify the circumstances of that night, and to understand whether the issues between Vac Mercer and other members of the community were simply personal squabbles or if they were legitimate allegations. I did not expect to find out as much as I have about the situation, but I was fortunately able to compile a vast array of evidence and read accounts of those involved with the situation in order to complete a thorough investigation. After several days of rigorous probing and analyzing everything to understand the allegations as an outsider by gathering logs and testimony from both sides of the issue, I hope that these findings will shed light on what exactly happened and provide answers to the NSGP community. This investigation was not officially sanctioned by the Government of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
The Night of the Operation
That night, then-Deputy Commandant Vac Mercer served as as the trigger and commanding officer of the operation. Khanter, Owen, and Xemt created fake puppets to impersonate defenders Vinny/Drake, Merlin, and Unibot from their jump point Spear Danes for “fun” or “propaganda”. When it was brought to Mercer’s attention that they had made those puppets in the NSGP Discord server, he assured everyone that “ass chewings [were] commencing” and that he would speak to King Henry about initiating court martial proceedings against them. King Henry himself had to reassure Khanter that he wasn’t in trouble with him or that he was angry with him (additional logs can be provided upon request for this). From his reaction in the server, it seemed to be surprised about the revelation. However, this was misleading since my review of the Operations Room where the mission conversation took place has shown that Mercer did have knowledge that they were doing so as he asked what their “fenda identities” were and proceeded to tell them “this is going to be f**king great… I look forward to the hate mail… and if any of you get any, do share for the lulz”.
Truth and Consequences
After Owen and Khanter took the fall gameside, Khanter posted a resignation with an explanation of the night of the operation in KGB’s that was deleted since its content was probably considered confidential. When the King was notified of the situation at one o’clock in the morning, he was in the process of finishing comprehensive exams as he was finishing up grad school, told people to sort it all out, and went to bed, thinking it was sorted by the next day. Apologies were made to those impersonated, and Mercer suffered a full demotion from Deputy Commandant to Marine and stopped raiding for some time.
What I have been attempting to clarify is whether Mercer himself explicitly commanded them to create impersonation puppets or if it was simply a suggestion. This was important if I was going to determine the degree of responsibility that Mercer has in his actions. Attempting to clarify this was a difficult task. While Khanter firmly asserted that Mercer commanded them to do so, Owen and Xemt stated that “it was an idea of his”. From what I have reviewed from the Operations Room log, there is no explicit command to make impersonation puppets from Mercer, but direct messages may suggest differently. Owen had told Khanter to make puppets that look like known defenders. I was told that Khanter has a history of “tantrums” and emotional outbursts, but if he has been upset over this, it has not been without reason- this couldn’t be the reason to dismiss his claims against Mercer outright. While it may have been entirely possible that Khanter may have misinterpreted a statement by Mercer himself as a command due to the language barrier, it could be said that the commanding officer is responsible for his/her troops and their actions. I have not been able to determine for certain if an explicit command was made, but it is hard to believe that impersonation puppets was anything like a casual suggestion from a commander.
While I cannot for certain hold Mercer responsible for it based on the question of command and leave the determination of that to the opinion of the reader, it is evident however that Mercer did lie in the NSGP community on his knowledge of the impersonation when he acted surprised when confronted, then proceeded to let the others take the fallout under the premise that it was saving the region face. If anything, the lie only made things worse. As Altino and others had to investigate the issue themselves, the obscurity revolving around this issue has lead to mutual distrust and confusion. With the lie and allowing this information to be covered up or unanswered for so long, this has forced those in TWP and other regions around NationStates to distrust us. It is this lack of trust and the lack of an adequate response that has lead many under the impression that this region has not learned from its mistakes under the old king, that “Don politics” is still business as usual here. As a result, our foreign relations cannot recover unless we take and hand down responsibility, and be transparent between ourselves and with the NSGP community. I will not recommend any charges since this is only an informal investigation into what happened, but this has opened to door to possible legal ramifications for those involved in KGB. If we can address this issue whether by a court of law or by the ballot of public opinion, we may finally be able to restore friendly dialogue with other regions in the community and allow KGB to grow once again.
I would like to thank His Majesty King Henry IX for his support throughout this entire process, and to all of those that provided logs and their accounts of what happened. On behalf of the Kingdom of Great Britain, I deeply apologize for the delay in investigating the allegations and in our response, which was long overdue. I hope that this will be the start of redemption and forgiveness from the NSGP community, and that this will satisfy many of your questions.Signed,
The Hon. Sir Edward Stuart KCB AK
Deputy Prime Minister, MP for France
Kingdom of Great Britain
